Tiger Strategy Ahead of Forthcoming Ground Invasions

The number 10 Fighter Jet Squadron of the Sri Lanka Air force launched a counter attack on LTTE Artillery Trenches at Kalmunai Point, in the general area Pooneryn this morning, soon after a rebel attack on the Palaly Military Base, Kankesanthurai and Keeramalai that grounded all air traffic to a halt. A total of 15 shells fell inside the Palaly base. No damages were caused either to military lives or assets.

K-Point is an ideal location for this type of attack, given the proximity to the Jaffna Peninsula. This is also the second such attack by the Tigers to disrupt activities at the SFHQ Jaffna and the operationalization of the newly formed Mechanized Infantry Regiment.

Using a Forward Looking Infrared Systems (FLIR), the SLAF is able to detect the muzzle-flare of high-caliber guns. However, the counter attack by the SLAF was reactionary and the LTTE may have removed its guns from K-point by this time. In August 2006, the Tigers used 130mm guns to attack the SFHQ Jaffna. All flights were grounded. A ground based siege was launched by the Tigers simultaneously to isolate the 55 Division. But the Tiger siege fell apart after its small units that infiltrated Kilali were hunted down by Commando and Air Mobile troops in fierce fighting that lasted for days.

The LTTE again attacked a ceremony marking the establishment of the Mechanized Infantry Regiment on 14th February 2007 at the Regimental HQ of 53 Div at Kodikamam, soon after the lighting of the oil lamp. Brigade Commander lieutenant Colonel Ralph Nugera was seriously wounded. Battallion Commander Lt. Col. Sumith Atapattu, Major Harendra Peiris, and two staff officers received minor injuries.

The Tigers have obtained coordinates to their targets through ground intelligence, much like what the SLAF does through the SLA. Prior to the February 2007 attack, a Rapid Reaction Unit of the 1st Special Forces Brigade gunned down an LTTE intelligence leader with maps indicating military installations. They had also deployed some cadres as arti-correction officers.

The objective of the latest attack is to disrupt the VVIP landing, which was successfully achieved. Although no aircraft at Palaly was hit accurately, there is an unwritten procedure at the base to divert flights during such emergencies. In recent months, VVIP traffic in and out of Jaffna has been high and increasingly predictable.

Like the attack on the 53 Division HQ at Kodikamam last year, the Tigers have been targeting high profile ceremonies, particularly those involving the Mechanized Infantry. It is clear that the Tigers are seeking to destroy the morale of the elite troops assembled in this regiment before they take an active role against the LTTE in the coming months.

The attack on 14th February 2007 (Valentine's Day) was made using four 130mm guns from four separate locations in K-Point Pooneryn. Each canon fired around 10 rounds each with 17 rounds falling inside the 53 HQ, Kodikamam. They were subsequently withdrawn by the Tigers before effective counter strikes were made. However, at least one gun was destroyed in an SLAF strike in August 2006.