1-8 base falls to the army

The Sri Lanka Army (SLA) has taken control of LTTE's 1-8 (pronounced as One-Eight) base located in Kallikulam, Mannar. SLA soldiers conducting operations to the north of Giant's tank (Yodha Wewa) were able to overrun the base today (30th). SLA casualties stand at 1 killed and 6 wounded. Exact LTTE casualties are yet unknown.

Meanwhile SLAF's helicopter gunships conducted raids on two LTTE artillery positions. Artillery directed from these locations were slowing down the army operations in Mannar front. It is not confirmed if the guns were actually destroyed or were moved before the attack.

In addition to the gunship attacks, Air Force fighter jets carried out a bombing run on LTTE targets in the Weli-Oya sector. Damages caused by the raid is yet unknown.

Troops make progress in Mannar front

Sri Lanka Army (SLA) soldiers after securing the Madhu church premises has made further progress in the Wanni battlefront. They have gained territory in Palampiddy, Manthai and Thirukethishwaram and Kaththankulam regions. At least 10 LTTE cadres are believed to be killed in yesterday's (29th) fighting.

Meanwhile it is now confirmed that one of LTTE's artillery guns was hit in a SLAF air raid on the 23rd. According to MI the gun has been damaged. Whether its repairable or not is yet unknown. In other news DefenceNet can confirm its readers that LTTE casualties in Muhamalai battle are as high as 80 (as said earlier).

LTTE aircraft bombs Weli-Oya

Light aircraft belonging to Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam dropped at least 3 bombs on Sri Lanka Army forward defence lines in the Weli Oya sector. As per our information (Still unverified) no damages have been caused by the bombing.

Update: One soldier has been injured by the bombing. LTTE seems to have targeted the 22-3 brigade headquarters and a gun position where army's Multi Barrel Rocket Launchers were stationed. None of the targets were hit.

Tiger aircraft managed to escaped unharmed raising renewed doubts on SLAF's interceptor capability. The attack, even if it did not cause any damage, is bound score major propaganda points among the Eelam Diaspora.

Weli Oya region saw increased activity yesterday (26th) with tigers shelling an SLA base and the nearby village in the morning while SLAF fighters bombed LTTE positions north of Weli Oya in the evening. This is in addition to the ground operations that are continuously being conducted in the area by the army's 59th division. 5 LTTE bodies recovered from a previous mission in the Weli Oya sector were handed over to the ICRC yesterday (26th).

Air Force bombs LTTE targets : Weli-Oya

The Sri Lanka Air Force (SLAF) raided LTTE positions located north of Weli Oya today evening. The latest arial raid comes after the rebels shelled an army camp and surrounding villages in Weli-Oya region. LTTE fired artillery at Sinhapura army camp today morning however the surrounding villages too were hit. No military or civilians casualties have been reported. Meanwhile pro LTTE media claimed that the army had started a major offensive in the Weli-Oya region. According to our information there is no such major push towards Wanni apart from routine limited operations.

Meanwhile the army has informed the Bishop of Mannar, Reverend Rayappu Josheph that they have captured the shrine and the surrounding area and has requested the return of statue of "our lady of Madhu". In reply the Bishop has mentioned that the return of the statue was 'uncertain' until both the army and the LTTE agreed to declare an area of two mile radius from the church as a no-war-zone. Interestingly, the bishop allowed the statue to remain at the shrine (then under LTTE control) long after the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) first placed their long range artillery guns inside the no war zone which was initially declared back in 2007. The army, after securing the church, has advanced further north from the Madhu shrine and are now in the process of securing Palampiddi region.

Meanwhile the recent setback at the northern front has triggered some changes in the SLA hierarchy. Former commander of the 53rd division has been appointed defence attache to the Sri Lanka Embassy in the US. The position of GOC(general officer commanding) of the 53rd division will most likely be filled by Brigadier Kamal Gunarathne who is the current commander of the 55th division. Brigadier Prasanna De Silva will be appointed as the GOC of the 55th division. Brig. Silva is a capable army officer who was one of the major forces behind the recent successes of SLA's Special Forces including the Vakarai operation.

Explosion in Piliyandala

An explosion has taken place in Piliyandala bus stand a short while ago. The blast has occurred inside a Kahapola-Piliyandala bus which was about to depart from the bus stand. It is reported that the bus was full of passengers when the bomb went off.

According to latest information 16 civillians have been killed and another 40 more have been injured.

The bus bombing bears all hallmarks of Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE).

Madhu church captured

The Sri Lanka Army (SLA) formations deployed in the Mannar district captured the Madhu Church today evening. The holy shrine and the surrounding area are now under the complete control of the army. The Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) fighters who had camped inside the no-war-zone departed the area in face of the army advance. It was initially feared that the tigers would blow the church before the army captured it. According to our sources the church has not been seriously damaged in the countless artillery duels which took place in the past several months.

Search operations are still continuing. These will continue till the army verifies the area is free of booby traps and IEDs placed by the fleeing tigers. The operations in these areas are being spearheaded by the 57-2 brigade of the army's 57 division.

Image: Sacred shrine of Our Lady of Madhu (File Photo)

Latest milestone in the ongoing Wanni operation comes only a day after the Sri Lanka Army suffered a setback in the northern front. Pro LTTE media elated by LTTE's success yesterday, published news stories which claimed that tigers inflicted heavy casualties on SLA in the Mannar front. These stories are false. Although it is true that the army suffered heavy casualties in the northern front, the situation on Mannar, Vavuniya and Weli Oya remain the same. 57, 58 and 59 division which are leading the offensives into Wanni have the tigers under pressure.

With the capture of Madhu, army is now focusing on Palampiddi where the rebels maintain a base which is sometimes used as an artillery launchpad.

Meanwhile fresh intelligence information from the north indicated that the actual number of LTTE deaths in yesterday's battle is around 80. A further 200 are said to be injured.

Heavy casualties in Muhamalai battle

Both the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) and the Sri Lanka Army (SLA) have suffered heavy casualties in the fighting that raged along Muhamalai and Kilali defence lines since yesterday (23rd) dawn. Nearly 120 SLA soldiers have either been killed or gone missing in the operation that lasted for 10 hours. 370 soldiers are reported to be wounded. Around 250 of the wounded are in P1 (Seriously wounded) and P2 (Less seriously wounded) categories. In addition to these casualties, 4 main battle tanks (excluding the T-55 that was lost on the 22nd) of the army have also sustained damage. LTTE casualties stand at 52 killed and an unknown number injured.

SLA soldiers who valiantly battled it out on a terrain which the enemy had the advantage, even managed to storm the first LTTE defence line on two fronts. The LTTE, employing a similar tactic it used back in 2006, withdrew to secondary lines and brought a large volume of artillery fire on the troops consolidating newly captured positions. It was this rain of artillery shells that caused most of SLA casualties.

Fighting rages in Muhamalai

Fighting escalated in the Northern front today dawn when the Sri Lanka Army (SLA) soldiers and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) clashed ahead of Muhamalai forward defence lines. Fighting which escalated at around 2.30 AM in the morning continued for several hours. Heavy artillery fire exchanges were also reported. Casualty count for the army stands at 15 killed and further 75 wounded while 52 LTTE fighters have also been killed. The exact number of LTTE casualties are not known yet. Two divisions of the army, the 55th division and the elite 53rd division took part in the battle.

Sporadic clashes are still continuing.

Army loses T-55 MBT : Muhamalai

A T-55 Main Battle Tank (MBT) of the army was damaged beyond repair when it was hit by hostile fire near the LTTE forward defence line (FDL) today morning. The crew of four sustained injuries in the incident but were rescued by the army and are now being treated for their injuries.The LTTE is known to have deployed a considerable number of troops from its Victor anti armor brigade in fear of army's newly raised Mechanized Infantry Brigade.

The Sri Lankan army operates over 65 T-55 and T-55AM2 Main Battle tanks acquired largely from Czechoslovakia, along with other armored vehicles in their war against the LTTE.

Troops overrun Lima Base - 3

Sri Lanka Army (SLA) soldiers operating in the Mannar front overran the small-medium sized camp which the LTTE calls Lima Base-3 in a pre dawn attack today (21st). 7 LTTE cadres were killed in the firefight that ensued and five SLA soldiers too sustained injuries. The army has taken control of roughly 1km stretch of land ahead of their previous defensive positions following the clash.

Meanwhile the LTTE has accused the army's "DPU (Deep Penetration Unit) of slaying Rev. Father M X. Karunaratnam who was the chairman of the North East Secretariat on Human Rights (NESoHR). The army has flatly denied any involvement in the matter. According to our sources, no long range surveillance teams were active in the said area (Mallaavi - Vavunikku'lam Road) on the 20th (Sunday).

Tamilnet is known to attribute the name "DPU' to even regular FDL recon teams of the army. On the 19th, army's special infantry formations laid an ambush to LTTE reinforcements in Mannar, which resulted in the instant death of 7 cadres. Even these infantrymen were not from the LRRP or 3SF squads. Flagship LRRP teams are only deployed by the army to hunt down top priority LTTE targets. And it will be highly unlikely for the army to deploy its deep battle space units (which are comprised of some of the best in the army) to hunt down civilian targets such as Rev. Father M X. Karunaratnam, whose death gives the army no apparent gains.