Rumblings from the battlefield

Some of you have asked us to provide details of the young Special Forces Captain who died rescuing the civilians at Ampalavanpokkanai recently. We were the first to report of his untimely demise on April 20th.

Captain Ajith Gamage was killed by an LTTE gunman posing off as a civilian after having breached the LTTE defences at Ampalavanpokkanai, including the insurmountable earthbund and minefield in the same area on the very first day of operations.

4 SF soldiers who attempted to shield him from the gunman also died. This is how 5 Special Forces braves out of the total 11 SF braves who died in the rescue operation gave their lives to the motherland.

The 29yr old Captain (Posthumously promoted to Major) of a slightly smaller stature than the majority of the Special Forces officers was a giant in the battlefield who rose through the ranks of 1 Special Forces very quickly in recent times. Major Gamage leaves behind a wife whom he married 6 months ago.

A particularly good looking and pleasant individual, Ajith Gamage was awarded the coveted WWV three times for his services. He the OC (Officer Commanding) of the 1SF A Team and engaged in LRRP/LRS missions for the same unit.

He was engaged in a search and destroy mission and had changed his offensive posture when he was attacked by an LTTE cadre dressed like a civilian.

Operations continued as planned today when regular infantry troops from the 53, TF-8 and 58 Divisions troops broke through an section of the LTTE earthbund south of Valairmadam. Contrary to the belief the military is using infantry support weapons and aerial attacks against the enemy.

The Special Forces and Commando Regiments were nowhere to be seen in the battlefield today. 1, 2, 3 SF LRRP and 4 SF Squadrons have/will be engaged on a rotating basis to engage the toughest targets while 2, 3, 4 and 5 Commando Regiments will be deployed for other specific missions, DefenceWire sources indicated.