Tuesday, August 21, 2007

LTTE continues to lose 'Lt. Colonels'

The LTTE has lost a number of its self-styled lieutenant Colonels in direct attacks, indirect attacks and ambushes by the Security Forces. 'Lt. Colonel' Tamil Vanan was killed in an ambush deep inside LTTE area several months ago and 'Lt. Colonel' Thyagan was killed in a sea battle off Pulmodai recently. Thyagan and Cheliyan were the successors to the Sea Tiger Command following a freak accident which injured 'Colonel' Soosei. Since Thygan's demise, Cheliyan has succeeded to the post left vacant by the injured Soosei. Cheliyan is a close confidant of LTTE Intelligence Wing Head Pottu Amman.

Another self-styled 'Lt. Colonel' was killed in fighting in the Thampanai area in Vavuniya recently. Within a matter of two to three months, the LTTE has lost a number of these cadres in close succession, which indicates that the group is willing to endanger its senior cadres in leading either seasoned or fresh cadres into battle. Certainly the experience of these cadres is needed by the outfit in the months to come as fighting could erupt either during or after the forthcoming Monsoon rains in October. The casualties come in the wake of what seems to be LTTE preparations for a show of its military strength through an attack on troops in the Northern Theater. The audience, in this case would be the Tamil Diaspora and the International Community.

LTTE Preparing for Operations in the North

The LTTE used their long-range guns to target the Palaly High Security Zone and Kankesanthurai Harbor today. The exact number of shells that landed in Palali or KKS is unconfirmed. However, the threat to men and material seems insignificant in this attack. The military believes the shells were fired from Pooneryn, which has become the launching-pad for LTTE artillery attacks in the past months. Guerrillas have managed to conceal Muzzle-flares of the guns from aerial reconnaissance units of the Air Force that use heat-detecting sensors, by hiding them in primitive, yet effective artillery hangars.

Truth About 'DPU' Casualties

Contrary to the newsreports appearing in the Tamilnet and other pro-LTTE websites, the Sri Lanka Army's Long-Range Surveillance/Reconnaissance Patrols have not suffered any serious casualties. Only around twenty Special Forces casualties have been reported since the beginning of the year, none of which were LRS/LRRP. The LTTE's catch phrase 'DPU', meaning Deep Penetration Unit, seems to be applied in general to all troops penetrating into areas held by them. This includes units from the newly formed 57 and 58 Divisions as well. It does not however mean that LRS/LRRP troopers have been ambushed on a regular basis. In-fact, only a few ambushes have taken place over the years. In many cases the entire team or a large number of the 4-8 man team have returned to base. This is despite the increased effort of the LTTE to capture or destroy one of these teams.

It is reliably learnt that the LTTE has moved additional elite troops in an attempt to block the teams' entry into areas controlled by them. The sheer length of the border between government and LTTE held areas makes it impossible to prevent infiltration. One must also not downplay the skill of the LRRP teams. The LTTE's recent attacks on military checkpoints and surprise infiltrations seems to be a ploy to unsettle the police and Homeguards manning such posts, who have successfully detected and seized war-like items bound for the LTTE in recent months, particularly in the Mannar-Vavuniya areas.

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