Tuesday, August 26, 2008

59 division makes progress in Tannimurippakulam as fighting continues south of Kilinochchi.

Small attack teams of the SL Army's 59 division today brought under their control nearly a 1km stretch of land alongside the Tannimurippakulam tank. At least 8 LTTE cadres were believed to be killed in the process and SLA troopers who launched the attack have recovered two of the bodies. Tannimurippakulam is located around 10km north east of Nedunkarni, Mullaithivu.

Meanwhile 57 and 58 division units were locked in sporadic clashes with the tigers alongside the frontline south of Kilinochchi. Although SLA units are now only 11km from the de facto capital of the tigers, capture of the city could take some time and will require precise planning. In the urban areas, artillery and MBRL fire support will be limited and the same can be said for air support. The army and the LTTE will have to engage in close quarters fighting in the impending battle for Kilinochchi. One thing that can be predicted is that the casualty figures for both parties will definitely be higher during such times.

Meanwhile the Military Intelligence has warned the army of a possible LTTE counterattack similar to unceasing waves (they have already launched several medium scale ones and have had little success with them). It seems the tigers are waiting for the right time to launch the attack which could be their final hope. On the other hand, the morale of SLA troops on the frontlines is as high as ever and they are being lead by some of the best in the army.

Meanwhile the army will recruit 8000 more soldiers in the coming months as part of the latest recruitment campaign. The shortage of manpower is felt as the army moves forward daily, capturing new territory.

65 comments:

  1. Defencenet, thanks for the update.

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  2. thanks DN.

    yes; it will be close quarter combat. but Mi-24s will have a field day.

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  3. The LTTE has the advantage of using artillery in this phase of the fighting. They have expert knowledge of the terrain and will have informed each household what they are required to do and when they are required to move away, to clear the path for LTTE artillery strikes.
    This can become a major source of concern, unless the SLA pre-empts that from happening. The best way to deal with such an outcome would be to recon/clear civillian areas in batches and then taking control.

    Now it becomes cruicially important to locate and neutralize the over 100 artillery pieces stilll in the LTTe inventory. Air dropping hit teams to take these mobile artillery teams out may be a strategy worth pursuing for the Army.

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  4. How the SLDF deals with this final phase of the war could become stuff of the legends for generations to come.

    SL can learn from the Israelis a lot about how to conduct urban warfare, and the US' experiences in conducting house to house action in Mosul could be adapted as well.

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  5. govt should totally ignore these "HEARTS & MINDS" JOKERS. the present level of humanitarian support is ENOUGH. if it were to increase it should increase based on the number of people displaced, etc. no extra programs.

    first we should wipe out the LTTE, then politics. LTTE sympathisers want it the other way round knowing fcuking well that if we put politics b4 ANYTHING, NOTHING happens.

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  6. TS,

    another method is to get the LTTE to fight for kili, etc. along the way. this way we can reduce civilian casualties.

    true enough we lost 3 times trying to move to EP from the north. but if we try that again with arti support from 58 positions, SLN and SLAF support, i recon we can ENGAGE many LTTE arti (equipment, consumables and cadres) units and destroy them.

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  7. It is very important to have LRS and LRRP missions to fend off large scale ceaseless-wave type attacks. In essence, such attacks should be terminated before the inception using LRS, LRRP, and precise bombs. I hope that Gen. Fonseka and Sec. Rajapakse have plans along with Admiral Karangoda and Air Marshall Gunathilaka.

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  8. My guess is that LTTE is betting on the following, before sending in unceasing waves...

    a) SLDF runs out of steam... (firepower and / or manpower )

    b) SLDF become confused due to negative political developments... and momentum of operations slows down.

    c) Unplanned high concentration of men and materials in one area... (good opportunity exists here for us to lure the LTTE)

    d)Possible weak links in SLDF.

    This is the time that demands we all be vigilant to the fullest... much more than the bus-bombing times...

    No excuse can be accepted... becuase our vigilance works very well... as it has already saved thousands of lives during the last few months.

    Sri Lankans... continue to sing for your supper.

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  9. UAVs and Humanit are going to be very key to winning any counter attack from now onwards.

    I would love to have Mig 29 night ops to take place soon too, making LTTE sorry asses guessing 'where would be next' or 'am I be the next'.

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  10. Breaking news!

    Guys...Assithiri is ran away with the $600k,which was given by GoSL to counter the LTTE sympathizers/propaganda in US, last week. Some rumors say he was seen in Costa Rico with few chicks.

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  11. gringo,

    LTTE will look to neutralise the SLAF substantially b4 attempting unceasing waves.

    in 1999 and early 2000, we didn't have MiG-27s supporting ground troops. Kfirs are not effective as MiG27s in AS for ground troops.

    MiG-27's ability to deliver gravity/cluster bombs (which will be MOST effective in a situ of unceasing waves) is well known. J-7s are good but in this role they rank lower.

    for a LARGER harvest with lesser flying hours, we should have our MiGs ready. OTOH if MiGs are out (for whatever reason), tigers have a window.

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  12. I want to hear a Mig 29 taking off passing my house!

    I need it soon!

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  13. Its time for lankan army to start pushing from the northern front..its the only way to stop a huge attack from LTTE.... i was thinking of a surprise attack on elephant pass area by Naval forces and capturing that streach isolating FDL of Ltte..can attack through jaffna lagoon and the other side too

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  14. Guys back to the old topic.. dividing the pussy into two...

    I think some have misunderstood tmy idea for a columnar movement.. What i really sugested was similar to the manouvre done by 57 and 58 before the capture of vedithaltivu, where the two div's met at a particular place..

    What i am sugesting is to do something similar on a wider front probably involving another div or a brigade. My gut feeling is once u isolate the pussies south of kili and tivu and north of vavu districts they surely will crumble into pieces.. and that would be an ideal time for harvesting as in moshe's terminology. My guess is most of the newly recruits and conscripts are gaurding these postions in the south axis.

    Imagine the kind of morale sinking effect for pussies by this action!!

    Anyways I am just a layman here and this is my thoughts are

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  15. Guys is this an indication that the 59 is also trying to reach the mankulam -mulativy MSR??

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  16. riyaz,

    "once u isolate the pussies south of kili and tivu and north of vavu districts they surely will crumble into pieces."

    yes, mate. but there is a problemo.

    govt wants to keep OMANTHAI entry/exit for humanitarian purposes. (this is the "V" shaped valley in the map)
    for this to be meaningful LTTE should be allowed a passage from kili to omanthai.

    i'm against it but govt thinks otherwise.

    "Guys is this an indication that the 59 is also trying to reach the mankulam -mulativy MSR??"

    .........anyone??????

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  17. Can somebody put map??? Defence.lk used to publish maps with articles but now they don't do it any more...

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  18. moshe u got my point exactly.. Well as for the entry exit point, the same fate fell to uylankulam could happen here... Maybe SF/GR/MR are biding their time to make this breakthru... So far SF has thrown so many surprises so who who knows this is not in his bag of surprises!!!!

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  19. DW is again infested with ID theft hope the same wont happen here!!

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  20. Bhairav said,

    Breaking news!

    Guys...Assithiri is ran away with the $600k,which was given by GoSL to counter the LTTE sympathizers/propaganda in US, last week. Some rumors say he was seen in Costa Rico with few chicks.



    I fully disagree with that notion, mate. Asithri is alive and kicking and made a trip to meet Rev Rayappu, somewhat clandestinely. The full liberation of Mannar area made the task easier.

    I will publish what took place between the two, shortly.

    Before that, I need to see a few more faces of your league.

    Await the dialogue between asithri and Rev Rayappu.

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  21. qrious,

    once we finish this war maybe u could publish a book of interviews lol... I am sure it will be a hot seller

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  22. defencenet, can i recommend linking future blog posts to wikimapia? where you can mark locations yourself for the world to see. 90% of north east of sri lanka has now been updated with high res sat pics on this service.

    e.g. Tannimurippakulam, nayaru lagoon, andankulam area

    http://wikimapia.org/#lat=9.1124361&lon=80.7800674&z=13&l=0&m=a&v=2

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  23. riyaz

    there's already a taker for that book - that book is booked...

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  24. Perien,

    Great video clip mate, thanks. I like the simultaneous footage taken from two cameras as it happens. ‘Like the soundtrack and comments from the arti boys as well. Pukka!

    Gringo,

    It would be insulting to the LTTE if they are betting on any of the 4 you have mentioned. But I too cannot think of anything they must be pinning their hopes on right now. They need nothing less than a miracle but hopes of that too have diminished as Ra Appu has defected (vasi peththata hoiya). I think the most effective one would be pressure from the IC to stop the offensive or reduce the intensity. But that would also fail as they lose sympathy everywhere in an exponential manner.

    As I have said before; the LTTE has gone beyond the point of no return as far as stepping in to a political process. Even if they do we should not believe them learning from their track record. The only outcome I see (provided GOSL does not make a big blunder – the miracle the LTTE are hoping for) is a military defeat of the LTTE.

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  25. My information is that Asithri has eloped with Duwaraka and is enjoying his honeymoon at an undisclosed location; a picturesque island love nest not far from Pukka Land.

    This substantiates his uncharacteristically long absence from the blog. In the face of true love, patriotism, yea even Asithri's great patriotism, must bow out to a lesser than the most prominent place.

    The LTTE spokesman Rabbadaiyah Ilanthirayan was unavailable to comment, so apart from asking the BBC, there is no way of verifying the story.

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  26. Moshe,

    I am sure the LTTE are constantly assessing their options and considering new and innovative way of countering SLDF onslaught.

    To minimise the risk of them getting hold of these new improvised methods and perfecting them to their ground conditions against us, the SLDF must maintain the steady and relentless offensive on the ground and more importantly via aerial attacks on known targets way inside enemy lines. Give them no respite day or night, eliminate as many fighters as possible and keep the pressure on.

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  27. PL,

    plus i prefer a strategy of dislodging tigers from their mulaitivu fortifications where bunker rats were hiding for toooo long.

    in that event they cannot have half their capabilities that have been HEAVILY concentrated in the mulaitivu area.

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  28. Army.lk is reporting heavy fighting:

    http://www.army.lk/morenews.php?id=15540

    Sri Lankan Media (Lakbima) has a story that Prabhakaran is gravely ill from diabetes and suffering from depression (this is known but the reports of illness are renewed).

    http://www.lakbimanews.lk/defence.htm

    I don't think battle for Tunnukai is over.

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  29. Qrious.. eagerly awaiting the Asithri-Rayappu interview..

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  30. "Similarly, confrontations occurred in the general area of VELLANKULAM Monday (25) around 11.20 a.m killed one terrorist and injured two more.

    Explosion of an IED (Improvised Explosive Device) trapped by the LTTE in the same area around 1.30 p.m. injured three soldiers, the same day.
    "

    Tharanga from your armly.lk link, this means LTTE is moving at the somewhat at the rear of 58 and 57? Maybe recce teams or small teams meant to distrupt the rear. DN do you have any input on this maybe it doesn't mean anything? Thanks.

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  31. Take a look at this:
    TID interrogates Mano Ganesan

    "Mr. Mano Ganesan, as the convener of Civil Monitoring Commission (CMC), has voiced against the level of the culture of impunity prevailing i Sri Lanka"

    Synonim for 'counter-terrorism': 'culture of impunity'

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  32. Mano Ganesan is another modern weapon of LTTE.

    TID should have interrogated this unscrupulous man when first they found out he employed an LTTE intelligent operative, an LTTE suicide cadre, and used his office to store suicide kits and explosives.

    This man is not what he pretends to be -another scumbag who pretends he protect innocent by wearing a mask. It is time that this man is brought to justice for compliance with LTTE.

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  33. jack, ltte is not moving at the rear as you put it. 58 is moving up a32 from vellankulam and 57 is at uyilankulam. if you look at the map there is a large uncleared area between these two towns/ regions. ltte teams can move west from iranamadu/ kokkavil/ murikandy and then go southwest to come between these two towns. then they can attack the eastern side of vellankulm. i think this is why 57 want to quickly close the area between akkarayankulam and uyilankulam and create a front facing east to cut off this route.

    important thing is main routes connecting a9 to a32 in this region travel thru uyilankulam and tunukkai. so they cant really move a large number of cadres and keep them posted for a large attack.

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  34. qrious

    looks like you couldn't locate Asithri in Mannar. he's probably gone there with Dwarka for some advise from the clerics.

    the notion that Asithri has eloped does seem to have some credence. Asithri seems to be taking his matrimonial vows very seriously, hence his unprecendented absence from the blog

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  35. mboi, I agree I don't think it is a large number of LTTE, but when I say 'rear' kind of like this hope it comes out ok:

    xx ^
    58 N
    xx
    xx <- LTTE
    xxxxxxxxxxxxx57xx
    xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

    Vellankulam is kind of where the corner of this L is that the SLA form now, so kind of the rear of advance units of 58 and 57?

    Also look at this now:

    "Meanwhile, 2 soldiers were killed and one injured due to an explosion occurred in the Periyamadhu area last evening. Elsewhere in the same area, a soldier suffered injuries due to an AP (anti personnel) mine explosion in the evening hours. "

    Was this a leftover AP mine or newly planted, I believe there was an attack in the same region last week or week before (61 div control) just saying looks like their small teams are moving in the rear again to start guerilla attacks.

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  36. LTTE attack in trinco?

    ITN says SLAF repelled a zlin

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  37. සටන් විරාමයේ දී ආ කොටි 15ක්
    කඳුකරයෙන් අත්අඩංගුවට

    ඉන්දික පොල්කොටුව

    මහනුවර ඇතුළු කඳුකරයේ පසුගිය කාලය තුළ සිදු වූ මහා පරිමාණ කොටි ත‍්‍රස්ත කි‍්‍රයා සම්බන්ධයෙන් අත්අඩංගුවට ගැනුණු කොටි සැකකරුවන් 41 දෙනෙකු අතරින් 15 දෙනකු 2002 සටන් විරාම ගිවිසුම අස්සන් කිරීමත් සමඟ කඳුකරයට පැමිණි කොටි ත‍්‍රස්තවාදීන් බවට පොලිස් බුද්ධි අංශ මේ වන විට අනාවරණය කැර ගෙන තිබේ.

    කඳුකරයේ පසුගිය වකවානුව තුළ සිදුවූ බෝම්බ පිපිරීම් ඇතුළු ත‍්‍රස්ත කි‍්‍රයා සම්බන්ධයෙන් කොටි සැකකරුවන් 41 ක් අත්අඩංගුවට ගෙන මේ වන විට රඳවා තබා ගැනීමේ නියෝග මත ප‍්‍රශ්න කරමින් සිටී.

    83 කලු ජූලියෙන් පසු දිගන අඹකොටේවත්ත, ගලහ, රත්තොට ආදී

    ප‍්‍රදේශවලින් කිලිනොච්චි හා මුලතිව්, ප‍්‍රදේශවලට ගොස් ඇති ද්‍රවිඩ තරුණයන් රැසක් කොටි සංවිධානයට බැඳී ඇති බවත් ඔවුන්ගෙන් විශාල පිරිසක් 2002 සටන් විරාමයෙන් පසු කඳුකරයට යළි පැමිණ ඇති බවත් අනාවරණය කැර ගෙන ඇති පොලිස් බුද්ධි අංශ නිලධාරීහු එම සටන් විරාම අස්සන් කිරීමත් සමඟ අඹකොටේවත්ත ගලහ ආදී වතුකරයේ ප‍්‍රදේශවලින් 300ට අධික ද්‍රවිඩ තරුණයන් පිරිසක් කිලිනොච්චි මුලතිව්වලට ගොස් එල්. ටී. ටී. ඊ. යට එක්ව ඇති බවත් අනාවරණය කැරගෙන තිබේ.

    http://www.dinamina.lk/2008/08/26/_art.asp?fn=u0808265

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  38. There has been an air raid attempt, in trinco against the navy i think..

    Defencenet any news??

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  39. Sounds of heavy explosions in Trincomalee for past half hour. Electricity cut off. Report of an LTTE attack. TMVP spokeman Azhad Maulana -Dailymirror

    The navy is retaliating an LTTE air attack.
    TMVP spokeman Azhad Maulana -Dailymirror

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  40. from defence.lk

    LTTE terrorists launch abortive air raid at Trincomalee navy camp
    LTTE terrorist have carried out an abortive air raid attempt at the naval base Trincomalee short while ago. According to the available information, the terror aircraft have dropped two improvised bombs.

    More information will follow.

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  41. Can anyone provide them some good bombs/ explosives? one hasn't even exploded! LOL!

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  42. Intelattack, while the attack may be another dud it is certainly no laughing matter is it, where are the air defences, F-7s etc etc.

    this is becoming ridiculous isn't it?

    ''fled the area'' why were they allowed to flee.

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  43. TN hasn't been updated yet with some boombastic news. Maybe they are waiting for the zlin to return.

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  44. Please do n't tell that they got away this time too....

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  45. jack,
    You're right! These insects should have been brought down long time ago.

    In LTTE's point of view, it's a propaganda injection. But it won't carry on for long, as they are loosing territory badly.

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  46. LTTE planes escaped again

    this is not funny

    air force needs to shoot them down

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  47. "Heavy explosions rocked the Trincomalee Harbour"
    Propaganda! Propaganda! Propaganda!

    "communication was cut with the East port town indicated heavy explosions and that vehicles were rushing casualties to the hospital."
    Good story to indicate how BIG was the attack from one Zlin with one Bomb!

    "(SLAF) Kfir bombers were seen over Ki'linochchi during the reported air attack in Trincomalee."
    Trying to formulate a similarity between Zlin of LTTE and Kfir of SLAF! The best part!!!

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  48. This was on the card while we are getting closer day by day.
    Surely they will try few more trips soon.

    We should spot the Airbone /landing points. That will help the Airforce / Army etc.
    It's a joint effort, Sooner bring these down will help rest of the run smoother.

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  49. The above news were from TamilNet.

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  50. Come on guys, this isn't about unexploded bombs. The important thing here is that these cropdusters, which have no defence system at all, can come to the most important naval base in the country and return without any harm. Where are our air defence systems?

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  51. Wonder why LTTE attacked from Air though they claim they still hold control of east. Maybe they were joking!!! :D

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  52. "A troop carrier cum supply ship of the Sri Lanka Navy, A-520, named 'MV Invincible', was sunk by Sea Tiger naval commandos in the Trincomalee Harbour, four months agoin, in May 2008."

    TN has added this part below the same news, due to the lack of results/ power by the failed attempt.

    How poor the guys are...

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  53. Well, if it's so easy to take down those slim zlins, SLAF should have done it already.

    It's hard to tell anything without knowing much information on the attack.

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  54. This has happened not too late in the night... Surely lot of people were wake when this happened. Why cannot deployed troops can tell us to closest few miles?

    Main thing is we are still not closer to LTTE Air units intel.

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  55. lankaenews says that one bomb exploed near soilder quaters.. there may be some injured person's because of this.. and the other bomb did not explode it seems..

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  56. A great article..

    http://www.island.lk/2008/08/26/features1.html

    The writer should counter Bruce Fein and Washington Post.

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  57. Guys,

    LTTE Slins, ignore them. They are just show-pieces right now to give much needed 'Punnakku' for Tamil die-ass-pora.

    It says that the "Crabs Dance until the water boils".

    Most likely that LTTE flew low hugging the coast to come to Trinco. It may be about 15-20 min flight from Mullative, and may be little too short for action on due time.

    We should not lose our focus and try to go after the Slins. The investment that we have already made is enough to counter a major threat from Slins.

    What we need is more vigilante to prevent any another Slin attack.

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  58. Our boys should keep pounding on LTTE door-step -Killinochchi.

    I would love SLDF to think of a sea landing from Mullative East to separate Mullative town from Vishwamdu and move in three directions from there. One to South, one to North, the other to Killinochchi, and in the mean time, a team from south to come north securing a 5Km coastal belt.

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  59. Well-timed blessing in disguise

    It is a bit embarassing not to shoot these planes down - and for the fourth time.

    However, there is a good side: at least, we now know they still have planes; the planes can carry impoverished bombs; they only work at the mercy of gravity and therefore, highly inaccurate; they fly very low to minimize the detection feasibility; in a few weeks, the use of these crafts becomes nil and the Tigers want to do something with that.

    The Tamilnet has the fifth update with this yet not much jubilation. It ends up the story saying that the LTTE has not confirmed the incident.

    So, it is yet another flop. We will have to live with the embarassment for a few days until it dies out in the face of victories in the battleground elsewhere. We will weather this little storm too.

    The Navy must not feel complacent, just because Sea Tigers are no more, until the brutes are fully wiped out.

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  60. Hope the major naval ships have capability to detect low flying aircraft well in advance and also the capacity to engage them from a far. Next flight could be a kamikaze targetting an OPV/troop carrier.

    Shooting down low flying aircraft is very difficult from a moving platform such as a ship, using conventional weapons. Ideally they'd need anti-air missiles, at least man-pads.

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