Suicide attack kills four civilians - Jaffna

A suicide bomber exploded himself in Thirunaweli, Jaffna killing four and injuring another two. According to reports, all casualties are civilians. The incident occurred in a marketplace along Thrirunaweli- Kalliyankadu road at 11.25AM toady (31at).

Meanwhile four black tigers were arrested by Vavuniya police in Irattaperiyakulam on the 27th of this month. Preliminary investigations have revealed that these cadres were on a mission to eliminate a VVIP. The arrest was made after a senior LTTE cadre who was arrested in Colombo revealed the whereabouts of the tiger team. The suspect also revealed that four other black tigers from the same team were sent to Kandy on another mission. According to his information, the tiger team was residing in the 'Le Kandyan' hotel in Heerassagala, Kandy. A police team was immediately dispatched to arrest these cadres. However the tigers had vacated the hotel before the police could make the arrest. Police later found out that the four suspects had used fake identities and had claimed they were millionaire businessmen when they made the reservation at the hotel.

Fighting escalates in Nagarkovil

Heavy fighting broke out between the Sri Lanka Army (SLA) and Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) when the former launched a fresh limited operation targeting LTTE assets on the Nagarkovil forward defense line, today (30th) dawn.

Soldiers of the army's 53rd division and 55th division moved ahead of their positions at around 12.00AM to launch a surprise attack on several LTTE bunkers on the front line. Their advance was backed by artillery fire and armored vehicles including T-55 main battle tanks (MBT). 35 bunkers in the FDL have been captured by the army. 20 bunkers out of the 35 are reported to be destroyed during battle. At least 10 LTTE cadres are confirmed to be killed and 10 SLA personnel too have been injured.

A large number of LTTE cadres who were manning defensive positions in the frontline pulled back to their second line of defense in the face of army advance. Troops are currently defusing mines and booby traps in the newly captured areas.

Update: Sri Lanka Air Force Kfir bombers raided an LTTE operations command center in Weddukadu, South of Muhamalai few hours after the SLA advance.

Task Force 01 captures Vivattankulam

Soldiers of the army's 58th division (also known as Task Force 01 - or 01 Kaarya Sadhana Balakaya in Singhalese) today overran the LTTE bunker line ahead of the village of Vivattankulam, South west of Adampan, Mannar.

More than 20 LTTE cadres are believed to be killed in the prolonged firefight which started at 8.30 AM in the morning. However we cannot confirm these casualty figure as of yet. The army has overrun 16 bunkers in the LTTE defense line. Sporadic clashes are still continuing in the area.

The 58th division, commanded by Brigadier Shamindra de Silva, is advancing towards the major LTTE stronghold of Vidaththalthivu through Adampan. TF-01 is comprised of 8th Sinha regiment, 10th Gajaba regiment, 6th Gemunu Watch, 8th Gemunu Watch and 9th Gemunu Watch.

LTTE shells Jaffna, flights to Palaly canceled

Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) fired their long range artillery guns targeting several military positions in Jaffna peninsula today. According to SLA sources, artillery fire originated from LTTE controlled territory in Pooneryn. Although there are no casualties reported yet, all flights to Palaly air force base have been temporarily suspended.

The LTTE artillery attack is believed to have targeted a delegation of top military officials who were to attend the inauguration ceremony of the newly formed Mechanized Infantry Division (MID). The aircraft carrying the officials has been diverted back to Katunayake AB (without landing in Palaly) fearing more shelling.

LTTE previously shelled the HQ of the 53rd division back in February 2007 while a meeting discussing the formation of the MID was ongoing.

In other news a 60km area of Bibila-Ampara road has been temporarily closed due to a currently ongoing search operation.

Prabhakaran unlikely to be injured in air raid

Many Sri Lankans all over the world were in an upbeat mode on the 23rd of January when Sri Lanka Air Force fighter jets raided a clandestine LTTE military base deep inside the jungles east of Iranamadu. Reason for the jubilant mode among the crowd were various reports (both military sources and public media) which suggested that the LTTE leader could have perished in the attack.

However latest intelligence reports suggest otherwise. According to them, the LTTE leader was not at X-Ray base when fighter jets raided it. Therefore it is highly unlikely that he suffered any injuries in the aforementioned air strike. The LTTE, however did not get away with a few destroyed buildings. X-Ray base was a top secret installation to which only senior cadres of the organization were allowed entry. According to our sources more than 20 LTTE cadres including 5 leaders (none of them top level leaders) of the outfit were killed in the attack. An unknown number of cadres including fighters from Imran Pandiyan regiment who were in charge of defense of the base, are said to be injured.

Fall of Adampan imminent

Soldiers of the army's 58th division backed by artillery fire and armored units overran a section of LTTE's forward defense line south of Adampan, Mannar yesterday. 9 LTTE cadres were killed and 12 more are reported to be wounded when army overran 7 bunkers on the FDL. Advancing SLA forces are now about 800m from the Adampan town center. 58th division (Task Force 01), is advancing towards the major LTTE stronghold of Viduthalaithiv through Adampan sector.

Clashes erupted 8.30 AM in the morning when SLA units moved ahead of their current FDL towards LTTE controlled territory. With the recent construction of the second defense line between Adampan and the tiger stronghold of Viduthalaithiv, it was expected that the LTTE would pull back without offering too much resistance. However the tigers resisted the army advance for a significant amount of time until they were finally forced further back.

Meanwhile SLN commandos from the Special Boat Squadron (SBS) recovered a large cache of ammunition hidden in Peraru jungles, west of Nilaweli. 63 RPGs, 6000 7.62mm rounds and two T-56 weapons were uncovered. LTTE is known to use this jungle route to send guerilla attack teams into government controlled territory.

The Sri Lanka Air Force  bombed what it called was a transport base of the LTTE located in Kilinochchi yesterday (25th) morning. According to the pilots, the target was accurately hit. LTTE however denied the claim mentioning that the bombers attacked a civilian populated area. This claim however is disputed as LTTE's anti aircraft guns fired when the jets flew above the target. LTTE does not place its AA guns in locations that are of no military significance. Pro LTTE Tamilnet.com did not admit the placement of AA guns around the bombed location. Instead it claimed that "Liberation Tigers anti-aircraft unit rushed to the area and opened fire when SLAF fighter jets swooped over the suburb, forcing the planes to higher altitudes". If this claim is true, how the LTTE units performed the miraculous task of beating supersonic jets to the scene of bombing is beyond our wildest imaginations.

Group based attacks continue on northern FDL

Sri Lanka Army (SLA) kept up its attacks on LTTE forward defense lines in Muhamalai, Kilali and Nagarkovil through several limited offensives utilizing small attack teams. Soldiers of the 55th division launched two successful strikes targeting LTTE infrastructure along the National Front, destroying two bunkers in the FDL. At least 3 LTTE cadres were killed in the firefights. In a separate incident, army snipers shot dead two LTTE cadres in Ponnar in Kilali region.

According to reports from the battlefront, majority of the LTTE deaths are child soldiers. LTTE leaders who are in charge of Muhamalai operations, Theepan and Lawrence, are said to be in command bunkers situated as much as 20km away from the frontline.

Meanwhile security around the Rantambe reservoir was tightened today after several civilians tipped off the police about an unidentified group being sighted in the area. Rantambe reservoir and the adjoining hydro power station are vital to the country's power generation capability. Military Intelligence previously warned about LTTE's plans to attack major thermal and hydro power stations in the country to cripple the island's power supply.

16 dead bodies found in Kebithigollewa

The police has located 16 dead bodies in the border village of Kiriketuwewa, Kebithigollewa today evening.  All the victims are suspected to be civilians. The bodies were dumped in two garbage dumps when police made the discovery.

Heavy LTTE casualties in air strike

It was only yesterday (24th) when Sri Lanka Air Force used 6 of its fighter jets to raid a major LTTE military facility deep inside the jungles east of Iranamadu. More details are now surfacing regarding the aftermath of one of the most devastating air strikes in the Eelam War 4.

According to military intelligence reports, hospitals in Kilinochchi are being filled with wounded LTTE cadres. Intel reports suggest that a significant number of cadres from Prabhakaran's elite guard unit, the Imran-Pandiyan regiment, are among the wounded.

However there is still no confirmation on any injuries caused to LTTE leader V. Prabhakaran. The pilots who took part in the raid could not confirm if anti aircraft fire was directed at their planes or not. LTTE usually places its truck mounted 14.5mm AA batteries in close proximity to LTTE leader's hideouts in fear of air strikes. If AA fire was absent when the attack occurred it may be an indication of LTTE leader having just left the scene prior to bombing. This however is a wild guess as of this moment.

SLAF used 24 bunker buster bombs to attack the X-Ray base, razing its buildings to dust in a matter of minutes.

LTTE maintains radio silence after air strike

Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) maintained radio silence after a Sri Lanka Air Force (SLAF) raid targeted one of its highly secured military complexes deep inside the jungles east of Iranamadu today morning. LTTE also ordered all shops in Kilinochchi town to be closed down immediately following the aerial raid. SLAF used 6 fighter jets simultaneously in one of the largest air strikes in the 4th Eelam War. However there is still no confirmation on any injuries caused to the LTTE leader Prabhakaran, who was supposedly present at the base during the bombing.

In the northern front, soldiers from 10th Gajaba regiment, 8th Gemunu watch and Commando regiment carried out several limited operations ahead of newly captured areas in Uliyankulam. LTTE casualty details in these operations are not available as of now.

At least 20 LTTE cadres have been killed in sporadic clashes that erupted in Mannar, Vavuniya and Weli Oya fronts in the last three days.