An explosion has taken place in Modara area a short while ago. A search operation was going on at the time of blast.
So far 8 people have been admitted to the hospital. Both civilians and police personnel are among casualties. It is suspected that a suicide bomber detonated an explosive laden jacked while being searched.
It has been more than a month since the army officially launched the operation to capture major LTTE bases in Wanni. The operation is spanned across five fronts and is spearheaded by 5 infantry divisions of the army. Out of these battlefronts, Mannar, Vavuniya and Weli-Oya areas have seen the bulk of the fighting for the past week.
Current positions of SLA formations in Vavuniya and Mannar are as follows.
Three brigades of the army's 57th division are spearheading the attacks from Vavuniya front. Their next major milestone is the sacred Madhu shrine which is currently in an area under LTTE control.
| Brigade | Starting Position | Current Position | Next Milestone |
| 57-1 | Iranai Iluppaikulam, Vauniya | Mullikulam | LTTE artillery base at Palampiddy |
| 57-2 | Vavuniya North | Periya Pandivrichcan | Madhu |
| 57-3 | Vavuniya North | Vilathikulam | Madhu |
The closest distance to the Madhu shrine from SLA positions in the area is 1.75KM.
In Mannar front, the 58th division (also known as task force 01 -2 Commando, 6,8,9 Gemnu Watch, 10 Singha and 10 Gajaba) are advancing towards Adampan. TF01 too has adapted a three pronged strategy similar to that adapted by the 57th division.
| Brigade | Starting Position | Current Position | Next Milestone |
| 58-1 | Uliyankulam South | Parappakandal North | Adampan Town Center |
| 58-2 | Manthai | Vivatennakulam | Adampan Town Center |
| 58-3 | Uliyankulam West | Palaiootru | Adampan Town Center |
The closest distance to Adampan town from SLA positions in the area is 700m.
Few months ago a startling revelation was made when police made a crackdown on a clandestine organization working alongside with the Tamil Tigers. The organization which was named Revolutionary Liberation Front (Viplawakari Vimukthi Peramuna) was lead by Singhalese some of whom even had government jobs. Hence they were better known as the 'Sinhala tigers'. This organization has been blamed for at least two bus bombings, assassination of minister D.M Dasanayake, transportation of explosives and firearms into Colombo, providing cover for black tigers and various other smaller incidents such as isolated grenade attacks carried out disrupt civilian life.
Although it was common for various individuals and underworld gangs to support the LTTE for money, no one had gone as far as the Sinhala tigers. They planned for a large scale coup and at least 6 of their members had received military training from LTTE bases in Kilinochchi and Mullaithiv.
Although initial police and military intelligence raids saw the capture of several top level leaders of this organization, one key figure in charge of their military wing has evaded capture so far. Adding to the MI's woes, latest reports indicate that another batch of members from this organization is currently undergoing military training in Wanni. Initial revelations made by the female suspect who was arrested for Dambulla bus bombing have now been confirmed through several other sources. Deputy leader of LTTE's intelligence service, Kapil Amman, is said to be in charge of this group. The exact number of personnel in this batch or their objectives after completion of training are still not clearly known.
For the past week, the 4th Eelam war raged across three major battlefronts along the LTTE controlled Wanni heartland; Vavuniya, Mannar and Weli-Oya. Most significant gains for the army were achieved in the Weli-Oya front. Small group based attacked which are launched daily by the soldiers of the 59th division have forced the LTTE into a defensive stance especially along the front lines north of Janakapura.
In the latest round of fighting, army was able to storm a LTTE bunker line in this area with fairly good results. Soldiers recovered 7 dead bodies of LTTE cadres killed in this battle alone. Several more cadres who fled the bunker line are believed to be injured. LTTE later made a push to regain lost ground but this however was a failure. 1 SLA soldier was killed and 6 more were wounded in the incident.
For the past week, the army has recovered nearly 20 LTTE bodies from the Weli-Oya front alone. The actual LTTE casualties may be higher than this figure. More than 30 SLA soldiers too have been wounded in these firefights.
The 59th division is marching towards Nedunkerni, Mullaithiv district. Their ultimate target is the LTTE stronghold of Mullaithiv, where several key LTTE bases including the One-Four base complex, at least one smaller airstrip and several major sea tiger launching pads are located.
Here is a list of images of LTTE formations, released by the organization that calls itself 'photography unit of the LTTE'. Although these images are accessible from http://aruchuna.net/, it will not be an easy task if you do not know Tamil language.
It is apparent that majority of these images are taken during training exercises. Some images are of course outdated; for example images from the Jejanthan regiment show footage from their bases in eastern province, which fell to the army last year.
On the 22nd of February, fighter jets of the Sri Lanka Air Force (SLAF) bombed a sea tiger installation in Kiranchchi, west of Kilinochchi. The tigers, as usual claimed that the SLAF jets raided a civilian settlement and presented many photographs of the dead (which included infants) to prove their claim. However latest intelligence reports suggest that a sea tiger base actually was hit in the air raid.
According to naval intelligence sources, the base housed a number of LTTE sea tiger crafts. At least 10 sea tigers have been killed in the bombing and another 12 more have been wounded. Among the dead are a senior female sea tiger cadre (Lt. Colonel rank) who was in command of one of LTTE's larger attack crafts (Surali), a LTTE major and a lieutenant . Exact amount of damages caused to sea tiger assets are not available as of now.
According to our sources, there have been civilian casualties in this air raid. However actual casualty figures seem to be far less that what pro LTTE media initially claimed.
As far as we know, the Air Force does not intentionally target civilians in their air raids. The Liberation Tigers are exploiting this 'weakness' of the SLAF to their advantage. From ammo dumps to sea tigers bases, the tigers are moving their military machine to areas with civilians presence. The Air Force uses multiple intelligence sources to confirm the coordinates of a target before it launches fighters to destroy it. Even with precision bombings on these coordinates, civilians living nearby could also be harmed due to the area effect created by the powerful bombs. By moving their bases into populated areas, LTTE assumes the frequency of air strikes to decrease; SLAF will be reluctant to strike the target fearing civilian casualties and even if they do, tigers will turn their losses into a gain by highlighting the civilian deaths in a bid to win the sympathy of the international community.
The soldiers of the Sri Lanka Army (SLA)'s 59th division launched several pre emptive strikes on LTTE positions north of Janakapura on the 22nd (yesterday). Several bunkers on LTTE's de facto front line in the area have been destroyed. 10 LTTE cadres have been killed in the firefights and troops have recovered 6 bodies of slain LTTE cadres. Five T-56 weapons have also been seized by the troops.
Meanwhile several electronic and printed media reported that the LTTE leader Prabhakaran underwent leg amputation surgery due to the injuries suffered by an SLAF air strike. DefenceNet's sources contradict these reports; LTTE leader's injuries, suffered from air strike, were not serious nor life threatening.
A powerful parcel bomb placed inside a private bus went off today morning at 11AM in Mount Lavinia causing injuries to 18 civilians. Many lives were saved by the alertness of a passenger who detected the bomb and the crew who managed to evacuate most of the passengers once the detection was made. The driver, while taking great personal risk, managed to drive the bus to an area with less civilian presence just minutes before the bomb went off. The bus has been completely destroyed by the blast.
The blast comes only a day after the Tamil tigers claimed that the fighter jets of the SLAF attacked a civilian settlement in Poonakari.
The Sri Lanka Air Force (SLAF) fighter jets bombed two of Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE)'s artillery gun positions in Mannar and Mullaithiv today afternoon. The air strikes were launched after the rebels directed 122mm artillery barrages targeting advancing forces of the 58th and 59th divisions in Mannar and Weli-Oya respectively. Precise coordinates of the LTTE artillery launching pads were identified using one of army's firefinder radars which can pinpoint the location of artillery fire originating from enemy territory.
Moving the artillery gun immediately after firing it is a well known tactic employed by the LTTE. By doing so, they aim to minimize casualties and damages caused in the event of a SLA/SLAF counterattack. It is still not known if any damages were done to LTTE assets by the air strikes that were launched today.
In other news, intelligence sources indicate that the number of LTTE cadres killed in yesterday's battle can be as high as 40. LTTE offensive to recapture areas lost to the army north of Parappakandal was ripped in half by the soldiers of the 57th division who staged a devastating counterattack. LTTE used 9 small attack teams, each comprising of 15-20 guerillas, to attack the army positions in a two pronged offensive that lasted for 3.5 hours. 3 SLA soldiers too were killed and 10 more were wounded in this battle.
Meanwhile army overran 5 LTTE bunkers north of Uylankulama today afternoon. At least 10 LTTE cadres and 2 SLA soldiers were believed to be killed in this incident. Army is marching towards Adampan, the next objective for the 58th division in the Wanni operation.
In the Uva province, civilians of Haye Ala - Buttala, fled their village after an unknown group of armed men were sighted in the area. This was the same area where 3 SLA soldiers were gunned down by LTTE cadres yesterday.
Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) launched a pre dawn offensive in the hope of overrunning army defenses north of Parappakandal, Mannar today. Heavy fighting erupted when Sri Lanka Army (SLA) soldiers manning newly constructed defenses in the area resisted the LTTE advance. Fighting which started at 1.30AM lasted till 5AM. The two pronged LTTE operation, lead by two of LTTE's senior leaders Sornam and Laxshman, was halted dead on its tracks by the soldiers of the 57th division. According to intelligence sources more than 20 LTTE cadres have perished in this battle. Army resumed its advance towards Adampan town center immediately after the battle.
The latest setback for the LTTE in Mannar front comes days after it lost the second defence line in the strategically important Uyilankulam region. Uliyankulam is one of the entry points into LTTE controlled Wanni heartland.
Meanwhile a group of LTTE cadres who had infiltrated into Buttala attacked an army checkpoint along the Buttala-Kataragama main road today at 11.00AM. 3 SLA soldiers who were on guard duty at the time were killed in the attack. No LTTE casualties have been reported so far.
