False rumors

It was only yesterday that Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam rattled Sri Lanka's capital with two bomb blasts that caused heavy civilian casualties. At least 18 civilians have been killed in these attacks and 43 more have been wounded. Following the blasts, a series of false rumors have begun spreading in Colombo.

One such rumor is that several bomb parcels have been found today (29th) in various locations across Colombo. This is entirely false. Police received information regarding an explosive device said to be planted somewhere in Liberty Plaza shopping complex earlier today and bomb disposal squads were deployed to the scene. After a thorough search it was declared that there was no bomb threat and the premises was declared safe for civilian presence.

Another rumor that is rapidly spreading is that a key water pump that distributes water to Colombo has been poisoned by the tigers. This is again false information.

These rumors are known to spread via SMS, phone calls and by word-of-mouth. If you come across such statements please verify their source and authenticity before you pass them onto your friends and family members. Meanwhile be on the lookout for abandoned parcels, vehicles or personnel that may look suspicious. You can report such information to police emergency unit which can be accessed via 118 or 119 phone numbers.

Explosion in Nugegoda

An explosion was heard in Nugegoda area a short while ago. According to reports, the explosion took place near the Nugegoda junction near the Bodhiya.

Update: Unconfirmed reports suggest that at least 10 people have been killed and a similar number are wounded. However, these figures are expected to rise as the explosion occured at a time when Nugegoda junction was heavily crowded.

Several nearby buildings (Including the popular No-Limit store) have been damaged by the fire which raged after the explosion. The fire has now been put off and most of the casualties have been transported to Kalubowila hospital.

There is heavy traffic surrounding the Nugegoda junction as of now and the adjoining roads have been closed temporarily. If you cannot reach your family members or loved ones through their mobile, this may be due to the fact that most mobile networks are down at the moment due to congestion.

Explosion in Narahenpita

An explosion has occured near the E.P.D.P leader Mr. Douglas Devananda's office at Narahenpita today morning. Mr Devananda is unhurt in the attack.

A female suicide bomber detonated an explosive laden jacket when security personnel tried to check her at the entrance.

Update: One person has been killed and two other have been injured in the incident. One of the injured is in critical condition.

Airstrikes destroy "Voice of Tigers" radio station

Ground attack aircraft of SLAF's 10th fighter squadron carried out a devastating airstrike on LTTE's official radio station "Voice of Tigers" at 4.20 P.M today. The broadcast station, situated 3.5KM south of LTTE stronghold of Kilinochchi, was completely destroyed in the attack.

LTTE leader Prabhakaran's annual "Mahaveer day" speech was scheduled to be broadcast live on VOT from 6.30 P.M onwards. It was only two hours before this event two Kfir bombers dropped at least 12 bombs on the transmission tower and the surrounding buildings. It is believed that at least 10 LTTE personnel on site were killed in the attack.

Voice of Tigers has been known to use two frequencies to broadcast its services; 98.0MHz from Kilinochchi and 103.0MHz from the Eastern province. It's eastern broadcast station was shut down when Special Forces overran Vakarai and Verugal region early this year.

The SLAF has been unusually active in the past two days. It flew four different bombing sorties today and yesterday, all on targets in the Northern province. At least 3 of these strikes are believed to be successful. Meanwhile several new UAVs are set to join SLAF's 11th UAV flight, which suffered heavily at the hands of Black tigers during AAB attack. The new additions are said to be technically superior to the ones that were destroyed in the attack.

LTTE satellite communication center bombed

A communication hub of Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) was subject to a Sri Lanka Air Force (SLAF) aerial raid today morning. The target which was located in Dharmapuram (North East of Kilinochchi) was bombed at 7.20am using 10th fighter squadron's ground attack aircraft. The target is reported to have been completely destroyed in the attack. LTTE casualty details are not available as of this moment.

According to Military Intelligence, the location bombed was used as a communication hub and a gathering place for senior LTTE cadres. It is also reported that the base was equipped with advanced satellite communications equipment. LTTE is known to use satellite communications to connect to its arms network which is spread across the world and to contact its cadres deployed in a number of foreign countries. They effectively used satellite phones in the Anuradhapura Airbase raid to provide real time updates to their command center located somewhere in Wanni.

The latest attack comes only days after LTTE's strategic communications wing leader 'Alex 'was killed in an airstrike. Alex, along with LTTE's political leader and Pooneryn military commander S.P. Thamil Selvam and 3 others, was killed in a SLAF bombing raid earlier this month.

LTTE's Pesalei attack a failure

Yesterday morning at around 8, the sea going arm of Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) opened fire on Pesalei police post on the Sri Lanka Navy (SLN) held Mannar island. Sea tigers who had their boats hidden among fishing boats, launched a sudden attack with the element of surprise. However, thanks to the vigilance of SLN personnel guarding the area, LTTE objectives were not met. The fight endured for more than two hours until the tigers retreated towards Vidattaltivu. It is now believed that LTTE's intenetion was to hijack a SLN Water Jet and drive it to rebel territory. No SLN troops were injured nor killed in the battle. According to MCNS, 17 LTTE cadres have been killed but DefenceNet can only confirm the death of 13 tigers.

AAB Attack : Did two black tigers return to Wanni?

On the 22nd of October, the LTTE raided the SLAF airbase at Anuradhapura causing heavy damages to at least 18 aircraft stationed in the base. Earlier, it was assumed that 21 black tigers participated in the attack and all of them were killed. However, latest investigations have revealed that the actual number of tigers that participated in the attack is more than 21. It is now believed that at least two black tigers who took part in the attack managed to escape to Wanni unharmed.

Even before formal investigations, there were rumors that more than 21 suicide cadres took part in the operation. This rumor was fueled by a group photograph published in pro rebel Tamilnet.com web site. The photograph showed a group of 21 tigers posing with LTTE leader Prabhakaran, before their mission. However the photograph appeared to be cropped and it was evident that there were more than 21 personnel present. Deepening the mystery further, Tamilnet published a photograph on the 1st of November, which showed a black tiger who apparently took part of the mission being honored by the LTTE leader. Although the claims based on these photographs were blatant speculation, latest investigations have revealed startling facts. Due to many reasons we cannot explicitly state what the latest findings are but we have reliably learnt that at least two black tigers who took part in the attack managed to return safely to Wanni. It is also suggested that as many as 27 cadres were deployed in the area that night (whether or not all of them entered the bases premises is not confirmed yet).

Meanwhile pro LTTE media have released a video which claims to contain footage of the AAB attack (in fact this was released few weeks ago). First part of the video contains footage of LTTE cadres training on what looks like a small runway. The last part which is shot in the night, contains what is claimed to be footage of the attack. The authenticity of this video has not been verified as of yet.

Army makes progress in Wanni front

The Sri Lanka Army (SLA) soldiers deployed in the Vavuniya-Mannar region have made inroads into LTTE's stronghold in Wanni with a series of successful group based attacks. LTTE has been forced into a defensive stance in these areas as the armed forced increased the number of 'hit and run' style attacks guerilla frontline positions.

During the past week, fighting was reported mainly in the areas of Thampanai, Periya Thampanai, Mullikulam and Vilaththikulam. More than 20 LTTE cadres have been killed in these fights and a number of their frontline bunkers were overrun and destroyed. Army casualties stand at 2 soldiers killed and 9 more wounded. Although the LTTE FDL was breached at several locations in these areas, the army did not gain any new territory. The objective of the group based attacks is not to capture territory but to destroy as many enemy assets as possible.

Another factor that is helping the army's advances is the inexperience of LTTE cadres deployed in the frontline near Vavuniya and Mannar (For more information view this post). These young fighters are facing the army's crack formations such as the Special Forces and 57th division. However LTTE is yet to deploy its 'elite' formations such as the Charles Anthony brigade and Imran-Pandiyan regiment in a bid to halt the army advance. It is assumed that they will use these units when/if  the army launched a mass troop movement into Wanni heartland.

Donate to "Api Wenuwen Api" via SMS

You can now donate to "Api Wenuwen Api" (Together for All) fund via SMS. This facility is currently available for Dialog GSM subscribers only.

To make a donation of Rs. 100, type API and send the SMS to 8877. If you want to donate more than Rs. 100, simply re send the message. For example, to donate Rs 1000, the above message should be sent 10 times. The donated amount will be added to your current bill if you are a post paid subscriber or it will be deducted from your pre paid account if you are a pre paid subscriber.

To view more information about the "Together for All" fund, click here.

LRRP strike kills LTTE heavy weapons expert

After a long silence, the army's Long Range Reconnaissance Patrol (LRRP) showed signs of activity when they ambushed and killed a heavy weapons expert of the LTTE yesterday. Pullawar Annan (also known as Thuiyawan Master and Seelan) and four others were killed in the attack when their convoy was attacked by LRRP units north of Palampiddi.

According to Military Intelligence, Pullawar Annan was the best and most experienced heavy weapons expert the LTTE had. His areas of expertise included artillery guns, heavy mortars, IED explosives and Multiple rocket launchers.

For the past few weeks LRRP missions had been suspended due to the volatile nature of the Wanni front. Forward defense lines were largely active and this made any infiltrations into Wanni almost impossible. Even amidst the intense fighting that raged on for the last two days, the Deep Penetration Unit had managed to infiltrate into LTTE controlled territory avoiding detection.

The LRRP team that took part in this operation was not part of the 3rd Special Forces regiment (3SF) nor was it a standard LRS team. What carried out this attack was the elite LRRP unit that is deployed only to hunt down high profile LTTE targets. Its roots run back to the assassination of Shankar in 2001.