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Major Incidents of Terrorism-related Violence in Sri Lanka, 2006

2006

December 30: LTTE cadres, hiding inside the IDP’s camp, open fire towards a group of soldiers distributing foodstuff and medicine to the refugees at the Parangiyamadu IDP centre in the Kiren area of Batticaloa district. In the retaliatory fire, troops kill three LTTE cadres.

December 28: Three soldiers are killed and an equal number of them are injured in a LTTE-triggered claymore mine explosion at Chavakachcheri in the Jaffna district.

December 25: Three soldiers, Lance Corporal P.A.A. Pushpa Kumara, Private H.R. Dayarathna Bandara, and Private A.M.P.K. Ariyarathne are killed when LTTE cadres triggered a claymore mine targeting an Army patrol in the Kudamiyan north area of Jaffna district.

Security forces retaliate when LTTE cadres lob two hand grenades towards troops who were conducting a search and clear operation at Nayanyurai, injuring nine soldiers. During subsequent search, troops recover four dead bodies of the outfit cadres.

December 20: At least three cadres of the LTTE breakaway faction led by ‘Colonel’ Karuna are killed in a clash with the LTTE in Vavuniya district.

December 18: Three civilians are shot dead by ‘pistol gang’ cadres of the LTTE at Chenkaladi in the Batticaloa district.

December 15: Seven internally displaced civilians traveling from Kathiraveli to Vaharai in the Batticaloa district in a tractor are killed when an artillery shell fired by the SLA explodes their vehicle.

December 13: Troops clashed with the LTTE cadres leaving at least five cadres dead at Meeyankulam and Welikanda area in the Batticaloa district. During a subsequent search operation, 11 of the 12 soldiers who went missing after a clash with the LTTE cadres on October 5 were found dead, and one among them, Sergeant K.M.S. Rathnayake, was found injured and abandoned by the LTTE at the incident site.

December 11: Government troops clashed with the LTTE in the Eastern province leaving at least 24 soldiers dead and 69 injured. Unconfirmed reports quoting civilians who are in the process of leaving LTTE-held areas, adds that as many as 50-60 LTTE cadres also died in the retaliatory fire by the troops and similar numbers sustain injuries.

December 10: At least 19 civilians are killed and 25 others sustain injuries when SLA personnel fire artillery shells at Kandalady Government School in the Vaharai area of Batticaloa district.

At least 12 soldiers are killed and 51 others sustain injuries when the LTTE cadres directed heavy artillery and mortars towards Kaddimuravikulam, Kadjuwatta, Kirimichchiya and Madurankerni in the Batticaloa district. A Sri Lankan military spokesperson said that a large number of LTTE cadres are also killed and many more are reportedly injured when the troops retaliated.

December 9: At least 45 people are reported to have died during clashes between Sri Lankan troops and LTTE cadres in the northeastern district of Trincomalee.

December 6: Four civilians are killed and another injured when LTTE cadres trigger claymore mine explosions targeting SF personnel and hit civilians instead, at the Telecommunication Department in the Jaffna district.

At least three civilians, including a teacher, are killed and nine students sustain injuries, when the LTTE cadres fire artillery targeting the Somadevi School and Kallar village in the Trincomalee district.

December 5: Sri Lankan troops kill at least 16 LTTE cadres in the Vaharai region of Batticaloa district. Two soldiers are reported to have died in the incident.

December 4: At least six LTTE cadres are killed in retaliatory fire when the outfit cadres ambush the STF personnel at Sangaman Kanda in the Ampara district. One soldier succumbs to his injuries while four others sustain bullet injuries during the ambush.

December 1: A suicide attack by the LTTE targeting the Defence Secretary, Gotabhaya Rajapaksa, who is also the brother of President Mahinda Rajapaksa, at Dharmapala Mawatha in Colombo injured seven army personnel and seven civilians. Two of the injured army personnel subsequently succumbed to their injuries. The suicide bomber rammed his three-wheeler into the convoy of the Defence Secretary. Gotabhaya Rajapaksa, who was en route to the Presidential Palace for an official meeting, escapes unhurt. The headless body of an unidentified person, believed to be the suicide bomber, is recovered from the incident site. At least eight vehicles, including that of the Defence Secretary, are damaged in the attack.

November 27: Sri Lankan Naval troops destroy a LTTE trawler engaged in smuggling weapons and ammunition and claim to have killed six of its cadres on board at Negombo in the Colombo district.

November 26: Sri Lankan Army shot dead at least 21 LTTE cadres in separate incidents in the Batticaloa district.

November 25: Elite police commandos kill four LTTE cadres in an encounter in the eastern district of Ampara. The outfit, however, claims four soldiers are killed.

November 23: Troops kill at least nine LTTE cadres following the killing of two civilians by LTTE in Batticaloa.

Four SF personnel are killed and five others injured in an LTTE attack at Bakkiella in Ampara.

Three SF personnel guarding a checkpoint at Kebitigollawa are killed by the LTTE.

November 19: The dead bodies of four unidentified civilians are recovered from the Trincomalee district. Three bodies were recovered from Allesgarden, a suburb in Trincomalee town, and one from Pattithidal in the Muttur division.

November 18: At least 23 persons are killed in continuing fighting between the Sri Lanka military and the LTTE in the northern and eastern parts of the country. The military sources claim to have destroyed three LTTE gunboats, killing at least 15 cadres at Mannar.

However, the LTTE claims its cadres sank two navy boats, leaving 10 sailors dead. An explosion targeting a military truck killed four soldiers and four students from a nearby agriculture institute in Vavuniya.

November 16: 18 LTTE cadres are killed and three soldiers sustain injuries in three separate clashes between troops and LTTE cadres in the Batticaloa district.

Security forces in a retaliatory action killed nine LTTE cadres when they open fire towards troops' forward defence line at Kadjuwatta in the Batticaloa district.

November 15: Four LTTE cadres are killed and another is wounded by the SFs at Ethawetunuwewa in the Welioya area of Moneragala district.

November 14: SLN destroys a large trawler carrying massive quantities of arms, ammunition and explosives and killed eight LTTE cadres on board in the seas off Kalpitiya, West of Kudiramale, in the Puttalam district.

Three soldiers are killed in a LTTE-triggered improvised explosive device explosion at Mantottam roadblock in the Mannar district.

November 10: Unidentified assailants shot dead Jaffna district TNA parliamentarian, Nadarajah Raviraj, and his personal security officer near his home at Borella in the capital Colombo. TNA is regarded to be a proxy party of the LTTE.

The SLN destroys one weapon laden LTTE suicide craft and captured another that were sailing in the seas off Nilaveli coast in the guise of ordinary fishing boats in the Trincomalee district. At least six Sea-Tigers aboard are killed, according to the SLN. Sources confirm that one of the boats was also carrying the remains of Ariv Charles, a senior military leader attached to the Charles Anthony Brigade of the outfit, who was killed in a security forces’ retaliatory fire in the Batticaloa district a few days back. Reports also said that a LTTE cadre aboard the captured boat committed suicide by swallowing a cyanide capsule when he was taken into custody by naval troops.

November 9: The SLN personnel foil a major LTTE attack on the civilian passenger vessel 'Green Ocean I' with 300 Jaffna bound civilians from Trincomalee in the sea off Nagarkovil destroying a flotilla of Sea-Tiger boats, including three suicide boats. "We believe more than 40 LTTE cadres were killed in the attack," told SLN spokesperson Commander D.K.P. Dasanayaka, adding, two suicide boats rammed into to two Dvora fast Attack Craft escorting ‘Green Ocean I’, destroying one and damaging the other. However, LTTE military spokesperson, Irasiah Ilanthirayan, claimed that a Sea-Tiger flotilla clashed with the SLN, killing 25 SLN soldiers, capturing four alive and destroying two Dvora Fast Attack Crafts when Sea-Tigers engaged in training activities were provoked by the SLN vessels.

November 8: More than 45 civilians are killed at Vakarai in the Batticaloa district as a welfare centre was allegedly hit by the retaliatory fire of the military. The SLMM spokeswoman Hellen Ollafsdottir said that monitors who visited the incident site had counted 23 bodies at hospitals where also 135 injured were treated. However, the LTTE claimed that 50 to 100 civilians were killed when "indiscriminate fire" by the military hit a school building where the displaced are housed.

November 6: The dead bodies of three civilians, including two identified as Yogarajah Jayalan and Abdul Jabar Mohamed Mansoor, killed by the LTTE are recovered by the Uppuveli Police in Trincomalee district.

November 2: Seven LTTE cadres are killed and ten others sustain injuries during a clash between the SFs and LTTE cadres in the Kiran area of Batticaloa district.

Five civilians are killed when SLAF jets dropped four shells near a hospital around 3-km from the LTTE headquarter in Kilinochchi.

October 29: Five civilians and a suspected LTTE cadre, carrying the bomb, are killed and two more civilians sustain injuries when a claymore mine fixed to a bicycle exploded in the Uduuppidy area of Jaffna district.

October 26: Three cadres of the TMVP, a LTTE breakaway faction led by 'Colonel' Karuna, are killed and eight others sustain injuries in a LTTE attack on the TMVP political office on the Chenkalady-Badulla road in Batticaloa.

October 20: Sri Lankan navy boats destroy seven vessels of the LTTE in a sea battle off the coast of Jaffna peninsula, killing at least 35 cadres of the outfit. Two sailors are wounded in the battle.

Unidentified assailants shot dead three civilians, Kulasingham Kunarasa, Vellupillai Thiyagarajah and Illayathamby Kirupananthan, at Rasa Veethy in the Jaffna district.

October 18: Suspected LTTE cadres carry out a suicide mission on the Dakshina Naval Base in Galle. Troops, however, successfully repulse the attack, killing 15 LTTE cadres, while one sailor also died in the incident. Another 15 sailors and 14 civilians are injured in the confrontation.

October 16: At least 98 sailors of the Navy are killed and 100 injured as suspected LTTE cadres rammed an explosive-laden vehicle into a naval convoy at Digampatana in the Habarana area of Matale district.

October 15: The SLN destroys a LTTE trawler transporting weapons, ammunition and explosives, about 35 nautical miles in the seas off Arippu West in the Mannar district, killing six of the outfit's cadres.

Three SLN personnel sustained injuries in the incident. Three Sinhalese civilians, P.K. Gunawardane, P.K.Upali and Ranjith, who along with two Muslim civilians were on a van collecting fruits in the Madavaithyakulam area of Vavuniya district are dragged inside a jungle patch and shot dead by LTTE cadres. The Muslim civilians are set free.

October 14: Three civilians, Vaithilingam Mahenthiran, Nadarasa Navarasa and Navaneethan, are killed and another injured by unidentified assailants at Samalankulam in the Vavuniya district.

October 13: The SLA confirms that it lost 129 soldiers in fighting with the LTTE in Jaffna peninsula on October 11. It also confirmed that the outfit buried 196 of its cadres in the uncleared areas (area not under Government control) of Sunokkai, Kilinochchi, Mannar, Omanthai and Mullaithivu. 283 soldiers and 312 LTTE cadres are inured in the confrontation.

October 12: The Sri Lankan Military claims that at least 478 persons, including 78 soldiers and 400 LTTE cadres, are killed in a five-hour battle in the Jaffna peninsula along the FDLs in the Kilani and Muhamalai sectors on October 11.

LTTE 'pistol gang' cadres shot dead four civilians, including three EPDP members, on the Electricity Board road in Jaffna town.

Three civilians and two police personnel are killed when a LTTE laid claymore mine on Kachcheri road in the Jaffna district, targeting a vehicle that was carrying EPDP members, hit the victims standing nearby. Apparently targeted EPDP members sustain injuries in the blast.

October 11: At least 50 SLA personnel, including seven officers, are killed and another 214 are injured in continued fighting between Government troops and LTTE at the Muhamale and Kilaly FDLs of SFs since morning.

October 10: Three civilians are killed and three others injured when LTTE cadres allegedly detonate a claymore mine fixed inside a van in the Poonthottam area of Vavuniya district.

October 8: Five SLA soldiers are killed and four others sustain injuries when cadres of the LTTE launch an artillery and mortar attack towards troops in the Muhamalai area of Jaffna district.

October 6-7: At least 60 LTTE cadres are killed and an unspecified number of them injured when clashes between SFs and the LTTE in the Batticaloa district erupted on October 6 when the outfit cadres launched a heavy ground attack using artillery, mortar and small arms on Army detachment at Mankerni and Kajuwatta. 2 soldiers area also killed and 15 others sustained injuries, while 12 others are reported missing.

September 30: Government officials claim that 16 cadres of the LTTE, including its Koaveli leader, Kannan, are killed in an encounter with the STF at the Pillumale Police post in the Amparai district However, the LTTE military spokesperson, Irasiah Ilanthirayan, states that 11 outfit cadres were killed in an ambush carried out by the STF inside outfit-held territory in the Batticaloa district and that the bodies of the dead cadres were transferred in Military vehicles into the STF-controlled area.

Eight LTTE cadres, including a senior cadre identified as Malarvan who led the attack, are killed and 15 others wounded by SFs in a retaliatory fire at the Thamparaveli outfit base following a LTTE attack on the Chenkaladi Army camp in the Batticaloa district.

Three Police personnel are killed when suspected LTTE cadres detonated a claymore fragmentation mine in the Vavuniya district.

SLN personnel kill three LTTE cadres in an encounter at Kannathivu island in the Jaffna district.

The dead bodies of three civilians are recovered from the Uthankulam and Tharanikulam areas in the Vavuniya district.

September 29: Three soldiers and a civilian were killed as cadres of the LTTE launch a mortar attack on the Black bridge Army camp in the Chenkaladi area of Batticaloa district. Two more soldiers sustain injuries in the incident.

The SLN claims to have destroyed a Sea-Tiger boat killing four cadres and recovered a large cache of armament from the Velanithurai area of Jaffna district.

The bullet riddled dead bodies of three civilians, identified as Sellaiya Navaratnaraja, Chandralingam Devaneshan and Kandasami Sri, are recovered from the Vinayagapuram area in the Batticaloa district. Police said one of the victims is beheaded and that a group calling itself ‘People's Tamil Organization’ has claimed responsibility for the killings in a note near the bodies.

September 24: At least 70 LTTE cadres are killed by the SLN as they attacked a flotilla of 24 boats of the LTTE and sunk eight of them loaded with outfit’s cadres and weapons in a fierce sea- battle that started on late September 24-night and lasted for five hours. The battle occurred off the coast of the eastern town of Pulmoddai in the sea 50-miles north of the Trincomalee harbour. Police chief Percy Perera said that a top LTTE commander is believed to be killed or injured during the clash, adding, the boats were bringing in reinforcements.

At least 15 LTTE cadres are killed as SFs launched artillery fire on a group of LTTE cadres who had opened fire towards troops in the Pulipanchikal area of Batticaloa district.

September 21: The dead bodies of three civilians, identified as Ilambaram Lewd Kumara, Selvadorei Kadeeshwaran and Kumar are recovered by troops from the Illavali area in Jaffna district.

September 20: Three LTTE cadres are killed by the police in an encounter that lasted for five hours at Isamalai in the Murunkan area of Mannar district.

September 19: A group of journalists escape unhurt but four soldiers are killed when the LTTE fired mortars at a vehicle convoy carrying journalists in the Muhamalai area of Jaffna district.

September 18: At least 11 civilians, belonging to the Muslim community, are killed at Pottuvil town in the Amparai district. Both the LTTE and Sri Lankan Army accuse each other of being involved in the killing.

September 14: Three civilians are shot dead by suspected LTTE ‘pistol gang’ cadres in the Mathawathakulam area of Vavuniya district.

September 10: Three soldiers are killed in a LTTE triggered-pressure mine explosion in the Asikkulama area of Vavuniya district.

September 9-10: At least 150 LTTE cadres are killed in the continuing battle between SFs and the outfit at Muhamalai, the northern gateway to the Jaffna peninsula on the A-9 main supply route, and its surroundings areas. 28 soldiers are killed while 120 others sustain injuries in the incident.

September 6: At least three civilians are killed and 10 others injured in artillery fire by SLA troops towards the LTTE held territories in the Kathiraveli town of Batticaloa district.

September 1-2: The Sri Lankan military said it has sunk 12 boats of the LTTE and killed 80 of its cadres in a sea battle off the northern Jaffna peninsula in a retaliatory action as 20 LTTE boats, including five suicide boats laden with explosives, had attacked a patrol near the Kankesanturai harbour. Two Government boats are slightly damaged and two sailors are wounded.

August 31: 119 LTTE cadres and 14 soldiers are killed in the continued fighting between SFs and the outfit since August 28 in Trincomalee district.

August 29: At least 66 cadres of the LTTE and 13 SF personnel are killed in continued fighting between troops and the LTTE cadres in the Trincomalee district till last reports came in.

Troops on duty at FDL in the Poovarasankulam area of Vavuniya district confronted more than 20 LTTE cadres who tried to infiltrate the FDL. During the subsequent search operation in the area in the area, SFs recover 16 dead bodies of LTTE cadres and one weapon.

August 28: At least 31 persons are killed and 105 are wounded, when troops backed by multi-barrel rocket launchers and artillery guns, retaliate a LTTE attack at Sampur in the Trincomalee district. Six soldiers are killed and 28 others injured due to LTTE artillery and mortar attacks as fighting continued.

August 26-27: Nine soldiers are killed and nine others sustain injuries when an IED planted by the LTTE exploded in the Muhamalai area of Jaffna district.

August 26: Troops kill 12 cadres of the LTTE in a retaliatory fire following LTTE mortar fire targeting the Chenkalady Army detachment in the Batticaloa district, in which five civilians are injured as the mortars missed their intended target and fell on a nearby village.

August 24: Five cadres of the LTTE and a STF personnel are killed in the Urani area of Batticaloa district.

August 20: Suspected LTTE cadres shot dead former Tamil Parliamentarian of the TULF, Sinnathamby Sivamaharajah, at his temporary residence in Tellippalai in the Jaffna district.

August 16: Troops kill at least 98 LTTE cadres in retaliation when the latter attacked the FDL in Kilaly area of Jaffna district. The SLA has reported that three soldiers are also killed and 15 others wounded in the incident.

An elite Police unit kills three LTTE cadres who had attacked a Police patrol in the Akkaraipattu area of Ampara district.

August 15: The Sri Lankan Military said that at least 250 LTTE cadres are killed and another 300 injured in continued fighting in the Jaffna peninsula during the past 72 hours.

During search operations at the Velanithurai village in the Kayts area of Jaffna district, SLN personnel kill five LTTE cadres hiding in the Grama Sevaka (local village official) office of the village and subsequently recovered a cache of weapons, including T 56 weapons, GPS, ammunition and communication equipment and some maps.

August 14: At least seven persons, including four soldiers of the SLA, are killed and 17 others sustain injuries in a suicide attack carried out by the LTTE targeting Pakistan High Commissioner Bashir Wali Mohammad in the capital Colombo. The envoy, returning from the Pakistan Independence day function at the mission, escapes unhurt though his vehicle suffered minor damage.

August 13: Twenty-five more LTTE cadres are killed raising the death tally of the outfit cadres to 125, while Army has lost four of its troopers raising the tally to 32 during the continued between troops and the LTTE in the Jaffna district.

August 12: Kethesh Logananathan, Deputy Secretary-General of the Government's SCOPP and former EPRLF member, is shot dead by unidentified gunmen near Vandervet place in Dehiwela Colombo. Loganathan had taken part in the negotiations between the Government and Tamil militant groups, from the Thimpu Peace talks of 1985 to the Mangala Moonesinghe Parliamentary Select Committee of 1992.

August 11: At least 128 people, including 28 army and navy personnel, are killed in the battle between the SLA and the LTTE in the east and north. Clashes occur when the LTTE attempted to overrun the army's FDL in the Jaffna peninsula.

Five soldiers who were injured in a clash between troops and the LTTE on August 10 in the Mawilaru area of Trincomalee district today succumbs to their injuries.

August 10: At least 30 LTTE cadres are killed as troops retaliated LTTE mortar fire in and around Mawilaru in the Trincomalee district. Four soldiers are also killed and 31 others sustain injuries in the incident. However, the pro-LTTE Website Tamil Net claims that the Army advancing into the LTTE-controlled areas has lost 41 soldiers and also alleges that Sri Lanka Air Force pounded civilian populated areas killing more than 40 civilians and injuring a large number of them.

August 9: Five civilians, including a doctor and two nurses, are killed when the LTTE explodes a claymore mine targeting an ambulance near Nedunkerny in the Vavuniya district.

August 8: Three persons, including a two-year old child, are killed and eight others, including former EPDP Parliamentarian S. Sivadasan, are injured when a bomb planted by suspected LTTE cadres exploded, targeting the vehicle transporting Sivadasan at Milagiriya in the capital Colombo.

August 5: Security forces kill five LTTE cadres who infiltrated the security forces forward defence lines at Kothweli in the Kilali region of Jaffna district.

August 4: The LTTE massacres over hundred civilians in the Trincomalee district who were fleeing fighting from the Muttur town. Troops foil a major LTTE attack on a strategic jetty in the Muttur area of Trincomalee district, killing 152 cadres of the outfit.

15 Tamils working for a French aid agency, Action Against Hunger, are found dead in the Muttur town of Trincomalee district.

Five Muslim civilians are killed when a shell fell near them at the 64th milepost in the Pachchanoor area of Muttur town.

August 3: Fifteen civilians taking refuge at the Al-Nuriya Muslim School in Thoppur and Arabic School in Muttur are killed and more than 30 injured when LTTE cadres indiscriminately fire artillery at two different times.

August 2: Troops repulse LTTE firing in the Kattaparichchan, Selvanagar and Mahindapura areas of Sampoor region in the Trincomalee district, killing 40 LTTE cadres and injuring 50 others. Four soldiers are also killed and 38 others sustain injuries in the clashes.

August 1: At least five SLN personnel are killed and 30 others sustain injuries when LTTE cadres fired artillery at the Trincomalee naval base and in the subsequent air strike the Government in the outfit-held Sampoor area targeting Mavilaru, Verugalaru and Kathirveli claims to have killed 50 LTTE cadres.

July 31: In a fierce fighting between the LTTE and SLA close to the disputed Mavil Aru sluice gates in the Kallar area of Trincomalee district, 40 LTTE cadres and seven SLA personnel are killed.

Sri Lanka Air Force jets destroy a Sea-Tiger base in the Vakarai area of Batticaloa district, killing at least 30 LTTE cadres.

Suspected LTTE cadres ambush an army bus with a claymore fragmentation mine in the Trincomalee district, killing 18 soldiers.

Four LTTE cadres were reportedly killed in Jaffna district.

July 29: Eight LTTE cadres are killed and 12 others sustain injuries in an air strike by the Sri Lanka Air Force at the outfit’s Thenaham conference centre in the Karadiyanaru area of Batticaloa district.

July 28: The Sri Lanka Broadcasting Corporation reports that 30 LTTE cadres are killed in a suicide attack launched by the breakaway faction led by ‘Colonel’ Karuna in the Vavunathivu area of Batticaloa district.

July 27: Sri Lanka Air Force fighter crafts struck selected LTTE targets in the east of Mullaittivu district, where the LTTE was reportedly constructing an illegal airstrip, killing six cadres and injuring five civilians.

July 20: Five cadres of the LTTE are killed and three NGO officials are injured in a claymore mine explosion in the uncleared area (area not under Government control) of Silavathura in the Mannar district.

July 19: Three Sri Lankan Army personnel are killed after their bus was hit by a claymore mine in Jaffna. Eleven others, including two police constables, are injured.

July 16: Three civilians, identified as Joshep Jude, Anton Densil and Pakyarasa Aruldas, are hacked to death by unidentified assailants in the Arialai area of Jaffna district.

July 14: At least 12 soldiers and four LTTE cadres are killed in clash between the troops and the outfit cadres in the Vakaneri area of Batticaloa district.

July 11: Sri Lankan Navy personnel in a retaliatory fire destroyed a Sea Tiger boat in the Kilaly lagoon area of Batticaloa district, killing four Sea Tigers on board.

July 3: Seven persons, including five SF personnel, are killed in a LTTE- triggered claymore mine explosion at Anuradhapura junction in the Trincomalee district. At least 14 persons are wounded in the blast.

June 28: At least 12 LTTE cadres and five SLN personnel are killed in the sea off Kalpitiya in Puttalam district.

Three civilians are killed in a claymore explosion in the LTTE-controlled area of Musali in the Mannar district.

June 27: Three civilians are shot dead by unidentified assailants in the Mailambaweli area of Batticaloa district.

Four LTTE cadres are killed in an attack by the breakaway faction of ‘Colonel’ Karuna in the Vakarai area of Batticaloa district.

June 26: A suicide bomber kills the SLA Deputy Chief of Staff, Major General Parami Kulathunge, the third highest appointment in the SLA, and three others at Pannipitiya, a suburb of capital Colombo. Eight persons are wounded in the explosion.

June 20: Eight LTTE cadres are killed during an overnight clash with the ‘Colonel’ Karuna group cadres in the Trincomalee district.

June 18: Three police personnel are killed in a LTTE triggered claymore mine explosion targeting a bowser carrying water to Dutuwewa Police station on the Vavuniya- Kebithigollewa road.

June 17: At least 30 Sea Tigers, six sailors and six civilians are killed in the Talaimannar islet of Mannar district as heavy fighting broke out between security forces and the LTTE. Eight sailors are missing in action. One civilian among those who sought refuge in a church in the aftermath of the sudden flare-up is also killed and several others are injured. The LTTE, however, claims that 12 sailors and two of its cadres are killed in the offensive.

June 16: Three civilians are allegedly killed by the SLA personnel in the Welgampura area of Trincomalee district.

June 15: At least 64 civilians, including 15 children, are killed and eighty-six others are injured when a state-run passenger bus carrying 150 passengers was destroyed in a twin side-charger claymore mine explosion in the Anuradhapura district. The Government's spokesperson on security issues, Keheliya Rambukwella, blames the LTTE for the attack saying, "There is no iota of doubt that it is the LTTE." Meanwhile, the LTTE denies its involvement and blamed the Government for the attack.

June 13: Two cadres of the LTTE and a soldier are killed in an encounter between the outfit's cadres and the SLA personnel, who were allegedly planting claymore mine in the outfit's-controlled Nedunkerni area of Jaffna district.

June 10: A top 'commander' of the LTTE, 'Lt Col' Mahenthi, and three of his associates are killed in a anti-personnel mine blast in the Mannar district.

June 8: An entire family of four persons, including a nine-year old girl and a seven-year old boy, are hacked to death in the Vankalai area of Mannar district. The Government accused the LTTE for the killing as the family was helping Government forces. However, the outfit's spokesperson, Daya Master, denies the allegation and accused the military for the killing.

June 7: At least 15 cadres of the LTTE are killed in an attack by the breakaway faction of 'Colonel' Karuna in the Muttur area of Trincomalee district.

At least six civilians and a LTTE cadre are killed in an explosion of a pressure mine at Vadumunai in Batticaloa district.

June 6: Two police personnel and a civilian are killed in a LTTE-triggered remote controlled claymore mine attack in the Bandarikulam area of Vavuniya district. A 12-year old boy and two police personnel were injured in the attack.

May 30: The LTTE cadres kill 12 Sinhalese villagers working at an irrigation canal construction site in Omadiyamadu, close to the uncleared areas of Welikanda in Pollonaruwa district.

May 27: Six local tourists and their guide are killed in a suspected LTTE landmine explosion near the Wilpattu National Wild Park, 200-kilometers north of capital Colombo.

May 26: A counter-ambush commando unit of the LTTE kill three 'Colonel' Karuna faction cadres and captured two others, when it allegedly launched an attack on the infiltrating five-member Karuna group from the Sri Lanka Army camp located in the Pattiaddy area of Trincomalee district.

May 25: Four police personnel are killed in an LTTE-triggered claymore mine attack in the Kattankudy area of Batticaloa district.

May 24: Three SF personnel are killed in an LTTE-triggered claymore mine attack in the Thandikulam area of Vavuniya district.

May 19: Five LTTE cadres are killed by cadres of the 'Colonel' Karuna group in the Sampur area of Trincomalee district.

May 13: At least 13 civilians, including a four-month and a four-year old child, are killed by suspected LTTE cadres in two incidents in the Kayts Island of Jaffna district. In the first incident, nine members of two families are shot dead. The police also recovered four bodies with bullet wounds from the same area and said that all the murders are connected.

May 11: At least 17 SLN sailors and 50 LTTE cadres are killed as the SLN successfully repulsed an attempt by a cluster of the outfit's suicide boats to destroy a heavy troop-carrying vessel - the 'Pearl Cruiser' - with 710 troops on board off the coast of Vettilaikerni. In the firefight, Navy ensured the safety of the passenger craft and suffered the loss of one Dvora (P 418) with two officers and 15 sailors onboard. The Navy in a retaliatory attack with the assistance of the Air Force destroyed five LTTE boats completely and disabled four others, killing 50 'Sea Tigers' and forcing the fleet to withdraw.

May 7: At least eight civilians, who went missing from a temple, are feared killed in the Thenmarachchi area of Jaffna district.

The 'Colonel' Karuna faction cadres kill 12 cadres of the LTTE in an attack at the outfit's camp in the Sampoor and Ravulkulee areas of Trincomalee district.

May 4: Troops kill seven cadres of the LTTE in a retaliatory fire when outfit cadres attacked SFs with hand grenades at Nelliady in the Jaffna town, injuring two soldiers.

May 2: Cadres of the 'Colonel' Karuna faction attacked the LTTE camp in Batticaloa, killing eight of the outfit's cadres.

May 1: The LTTE triggers an improvised explosive device blast targeting SLN personnel near Shanmugam Vidyalaya in the Trincomlaee town. However, the blast missed its intended target, killing four civilians and one SLN personnel. One more SLN personnel sustained injuries in the blast.

April 30: The LTTE raids camps belonging to 'Colonel' Karuna faction in the Welikanda area of Polannaruwa district, killing 20 of its cadres.

April 26: At least four civilians are killed and 12 others, including two sailors, are injured when the LTTE directed mortar fire towards the naval jetty in Muttur.

April 25: Army Commander Lt. General Sarath Fonseka is critically injured while at least eight persons are killed when a female suicide cadre of the LTTE, disguised as a pregnant woman, blew herself up in front of the military hospital inside the Colombo Army headquarters.

April 23: LTTE cadres shot dead six Sinhalese farmers, including a home guard, who were in their paddy fields at Kallanpattu in the Gomarankadawala area of Trincomalee district.

April 18: The pro-LTTE website Tamilnet claims that the Sri Lanka Army soldiers killed five Tamil civilians near the SLA 51-1 Division camp located at Vatharavathai, 13 km north-east of Jaffna.

April 17: Five SF personnel are killed and seven others sustain injuries in a LTTE triggered claymore mine explosion in the Veppankulam area of Vavuniya district.

April 15: At least four soldiers are killed and several others wounded in a suspected LTTE triggered claymore mine explosion in the Vavuniya district.

April 12: LTTE cadres set off an IED outside a vegetable market, killing at least five people in the Trincomalee district. Six more persons were killed in the subsequent mob violence in which shops, including those belonging to Tamils and Muslims, are set ablaze. 38 persons were injured in the two incidents.

April 11: Ten Sri Lankan Navy sailors and a civilian driver are killed, while nine others injured when a Navy convoy was targeted by a LTTE triggered claymore mine explosion, at Thampalagamuwa on the Trincomalee-Habarana road.

April 10: Five soldiers and two civilians are killed and two other civilians are injured in a claymore mine explosion triggered by suspected cadres of the LTTE in the Mirusuvil area of Jaffna district.

March 25: Six LTTE cadres and eight sailors are feared killed, when a boat heading to northern Sri Lanka and carrying LTTE cadres exploded off the northwest coast on near a naval craft. The boat, believed to be carrying explosives, was approached by a Naval Fast Attack Craft to carry out an inspection when it exploded in the Kalpititya region of Puttalam district, 200 km north of capital Colombo.

February 11: One of four suspected LTTE Sea Tigers aboard on a speeding trawler blew himself up in mid-sea off Talaimannar in the Mannar district after being intercepted by Sri Lanka Navy (SLN) personnel, killing four sea Tigers on board and injuring a SLN personnel, who succumbed to his injuries later.

January 26: A senior LTTE cadre, identified as ‘Major’ Kavilan, is killed in the Vadamunai area of Batticaloa district.

At least 10 LTTE cadres are killed and an unspecified number are injured when ‘Colonel’ Karuna faction cadres attacked a vehicle carrying LTTE cadres in the Vadamunai area of Batticaloa district.

January 23: Suspected LTTE cadres attack an army patrol near the Batticaloa town, detonating a claymore mine, killing three soldiers and wounding two others.

January 21: Twenty-seven LTTE cadres are killed in an explosion that occurred in the Adampan area of Mannar district.

January 19: Three police personnel and a civilian are killed in a suspected LTTE triggered claymore mine blast in the Thandavanveli area of Batticaloa district. Seven army personnel, 13 police personnel and three civilians are injured in the blast.

January 17: Suspected LTTE cadres trigger a claymore mine explosion on the Nilaveli-Trincomalee road, injuring 12 sailors travelling by bus to Trincomalee. Two unidentified civilians are killed and another injured in the crossfire, which ensued after the blast, when the LTTE cadres opened fire at the bus and retaliated by naval troops.

January 15: Three women relatives of a LTTE cadre are shot dead by unidentified assailants in Manipay, close to the Manipay Hindu College in Jaffna district

January 12: Nine SLN personnel are killed and eight others sustain injuries in a suspected LTTE triggered claymore mine blast in Chettikulam on the Mannar-Medawachchiya road.

January 9: A soldier and two LTTE cadres were killed following a gun battle between the LTTE and a military patrol in Muttur near Trincomalee

January 7: Fifteen Sri Lankan Navy personnel are killed in a suspected suicide attack by the LTTE on a navy gunboat outside the Trincomalee naval harbor in Trincomalee district.

January 2: Five people are killed and two others sustain injuries in a bomb blast in Trincomalee.

 

 

 

 

 
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