2 days ago, civilians in LTTE held areas in and around Thoppigala began fleeing their homes and took refugee in government controlled areas in Batticaloa. This was because they saw the signs of the forthcoming major battle and did not want to be used again as human shields by the LTTE.
The army seems to be engaging in the operation to liberate Thoppigala according to a well devised plan. Firstly, long range artillery fire and airstrikes took known rebel positions deep inside the jungles. During last week, regualr infantry units conducted pre emptive strikes on strategic locations in the east and captured them. The operation has now reached the most decisive phase. It is this phase which triggered the mass civilian exodus during the last few days.
Civilians saw heavily armed personnel, clad in jungle uniforms and wearing black clothes around their heads, entering the jungles of Thoppigala. These men were moving in groups of 4 and 8. The civilians had seen none other than the Sri lanka army's elite Special Forces units preparing to infiltrate rebel defence lines. Special Forces will play a major role in softening up the tigers till the final thrust is made using regular infantry and mechanized units.
Meanwhile intelligence information suggests that LTTE has deployed it's elite Jeyanthan brigade to hunt down any SF personnel who infiltrated their defenses. Jeyanthan brigade fled in disarray when a 40 man Special Forces squad carried out a legendary amphibious assault on Vakarai town center during Vakarai offensive. SF was able to capture the Vakarai hospital within 5 minutes in this assault.
What will happen when Special Forces and Jeyanthan brigade meets for a second time in dense jungles of Thoppigala? Will SF be able to rout the tigers once more? Will the tigers use jungle terrain to their advantage? Only time will tell.
If they meet as the SF, as the SF motto goes “nothing is impossible” combined with the SF’s Do or Die Doing attitude will wipe out the tigers. But human intelligence is vital to carry out tactical take downs of tiger strong holds. I saw our SF boys carrying Thermobaric RPG rounds during vakarai Op’s. That should help flush out the tigers from fortified positions and caves.
ReplyDeleteAny idea if our boys use Shotguns and 40mm buckshot rounds in jungles like the US Rangers & British SBS commandos? At short range and in caves the shotguns are toys from hell. The 40mm buckshot shell can be fired from the CIS-40, HK-69 and M203 that our boys use. Its ideal for counter ambush maneuvers.
Roger on both, Nemesis.
ReplyDeletecopy that, david..good hunting...
ReplyDeleteDon't forget the good old Rambo knives. Our SF makes 'good use' of them :)
ReplyDeleteYeah, knives are one of the best weapons...no need to reload, field strip n clean, never runs out of ammo and it's stealth!! dont forget machetes.
ReplyDeleteOur boys have crossbows, dont know if they are used??
Kool! I just hope that our guys don't take many casualties. Jungle warfare is not an easy task especially when the enemy knows the terrain.
ReplyDeleteLST, Rambo knives are usually only used by Rambo. The most effective weapon for silent killing is a silenced firearm. Knives are rarely used for killing really. And for everything else a Swiss Army knife or a Leatherman is much better.
ReplyDeleteNemesis, I know machetes, axes, and even shovels, make good CQB weapons, but I think the crossbows are more for the recruitment videos. An MP-5SD is much more effective.
roger David...but the new MP-5's our boys got are from POF and not from H&K..do you think the POF weapons are accurate& reliable?
ReplyDeleteAnd don't the Russians have suppressors for AK/AKM? will the fit our Chinese AK clones?
Do you think it would be good for our guys to get some VSK-94 rifles? (9x39mm). Said to be hard hitting..
""LST, Rambo knives are usually only used by Rambo.""
ReplyDeleteDavid, That’s how they call it in the military. But what you say is true, there is no such product as Rambo knives. But the popular terminology is used for other types of knives.
However, knives were used "extensively' by the SF in recent operations. I cannot reveal much details about it but they came in handy in several 'sabotage' operations .
Nemesis, the Army was using the Valmet suppressed rifle at one point, and possibly still are. The VSK-94 doesn't have much range, and rather go for that exotic option, the SF is more likely to use a suppressed CAR-15 or MP-5SD.
ReplyDeleteI believe the Pakistani stuff is as good as the original.
LST, if you meant the big serrated blade 'survival' knives with the hollow handle, then yeah, only Rambo-wannabe's use 'em. At one time the Commandos were issued FSs, but I think even that's just for image. Dunno what you mean by 'sabotage', but if its wire-cutting and the like, the SF has better stuff in their belt kit than in any Rambo knife. If you mean killing, as I said, knives are rarely used these days outside Hollywood.
thanks david, The CAR-15, is it the Canadian made M-16/M-4 rifle?
ReplyDeleteDo our boys use .50Cal Sniper rifles? I know SF uses AI's and HK PSG-1,G-3SG1 & MSG-90.
What do you think about having Sharpshooter with a SVD at platoon level?The rifle is cheap..effective to about 600m and ammo is compatible with the PKMs we use
CAR-15 is the carbine version of the M-16A1/2, also called the Colt Commando. Can''t remember it's exact military designation. You see 'em in use with the STF.
ReplyDeleteThe SVD's not a great sniper rifle (the scope's crap). At platoon level, a G3 platform would be OK, but a bolt action (L96 family) would be better, with G3-equipped spotter. Taking it a step further, each section could have a designated marksman with an accurized & scoped T56 or T81. I'm talking about reg leg units here, not SF.
And yeah, .50s are used. Last year South Africa sold an order of their 20-mm (!) Mechem NTW-20 anti material rifle (the world's largest calibre sniping weapon) to "an undisclosed South Asian nation", according too Janes Guns ;)
Yeah..devid a platoon level T-56/T-81 sharpshooter would be the best..but the G3 idea is great too..how about a gud old SKS with a good scope and a AK magazine feed system?.I see some us Marines use these in Faluja..said to be more accurate than AK's..
ReplyDeleteI thing CAR stands for Colt Automatic Rifle...the navy uses a chinese M-16/M203 clone called CQ-15..said to be crap!
If we have a the NTW-20...man thats great..i thought that SA had an arms ban on us? Ws should get some new MIlkor MGL-1 MK1's with HELLHOUND rounds too... nasty ;-)..
about the .50cals are the M-82A1 or others like the Falcon from Czech?