LTTE rapidly losing territory and cadres as Wanni battles intensify

Ranil WIJAYAPALA
 

The final battle in the Wanni has come to a decisive point. It has been proved beyond doubt with successive desperate attempts by the LTTE to change the balance of power between the Security Forces and the LTTE at this decisive point with their attempts to infiltrate the highly defended Sri Lanka Air Force base in Vavuniya where the SLAF has vital radar equipment to monitor the air movements of the LTTE.

It was around 3 a.m. when the Security Forces Headquarters in Wanni was alerted with an unexpected fall of artillery round onto an open space outside the military and Police complex. The surprising artillery round that fell into the SFHQ area put the entire military complex on alert.

Rounds of artillery continued to fall to the SFHQ whilst the instructions were disseminating for those who were inside the military complex to move into bunkers as it was under artillery fire.

Amidst the artillery rounds falling into various places inside and outside the military complex one soldier manning a sentry point covering the Army camp area where the Special Forces have their battalion headquarters observed an unusual movement ahead of his sentry point.

Chinese built F-7 BS interceptor Which destroyed LTTE light aircraft

Since it was unusual for soldiers to scrawl on the ground when a military complex is under artillery fire, he fired at this movement without having a second thought. He was right in his guess. The return fire came in his direction and the entire camp was alerted that it was not only under artillery fire but the camp was also facing ground infiltration.

By this time two Black Tiger cadres had reached close to the road that separates the SLAF base and the Special Forces Brigade Headquarters within the Wanni Security Forces Headquarters and the Special Forces troops detected a few more Tiger cadres trying to infiltrate the camp area.

It was similar to the attack on the SLAF base in Anuradhapura in which Black Tiger cadres infiltrated the Air Base while two of their light aircraft dropped some bombs into the Air Base.

But this time they had chosen the wrong place to enter the military complex.

It was a meeting of experts on infiltrators. The Black Tiger cadres had tried to move towards the SLAF base through the Special Forces Brigade inside the Wanni SFHQ.

The firing came all directions towards the Tiger movement. The fire coming from the LTTE was heavy as they had come there for a do or die mission. They had no hope of returning. But the determination of the troops was also high and they fearlessly faced the Black Tiger cadres amidst rains of artillery rounds falling into the camp site.

The mission of the Tiger cadres was obvious. They were trying to reach towards the SLAF base towards the control tower of the radars located inside the SLAF base. The others having highly sophisticated communications equipment including satellite phones were correcting the artillery targets.

It was at the peak of the ground battle that the entire camp was alerted about two aircraft heading towards Vavuniya. As Black Tiger cadres fell one after the other as a result of the fire directed at them by the SF troops and the Air Force ground troops the entire camp got ready to face the pending air threat to the military complex. By this time troops had effectively foiled the attempts of the Black Tiger cadres in Army uniforms to infiltrate the camp.

However, one Black Tiger cadre who managed to reach close to the road separating the Army camp and the Air Force base directed one RPG towards the air control tower but missed the target. They were all killed by the troops and other cadres committed suicide by exploding their suicide jackets as they could not face the fire directed at them.

It was at 3.28 am as the Wanni SFHQ was under artillery fire and under ground infiltration the radars at the Vavuniya Air Base detected one Tiger aircraft heading towards Vavuniya. Three minutes later they detected another blip on the radar that was also heading towards Vavuniya.

The SLAF activated the air defence system as the LTTE light aircraft were heading towards Vavuniya. All guns including T-56s were directed towards the roaring sound of the aircraft. They also directed flash lights into the air.

The entire sky over Wanni SFHQ was illuminated with the lighting of the firing.

Amidst heavy firing towards the aircraft one aircraft reached the southern outer perimeter of the military complex and dropped two crude bombs in the camp area. One crude bomb fell close to the Special Forces Brigade Commander Lt. Colonel Normal Dharamaratne’s chalet but he was not inside as he was on leave. But the crude bomb remained unexploded.

The other aircraft had turned back due to heavy resistance from the Security Forces from all directions. By this time two Chinese built F-7 BS interceptors were airborne from Katunayake - just eight minutes after the radars detected the two aircraft heading towards Vavuniya.

The Chinese built F-7 aircraft with air-to-air interceptor capability had detected one Tiger aircraft flying back towards west of Mullaitivu. The pilot on board F-7 had locked the target and the air to air missile was released destroying the light aircraft completely.

The F-7 interceptor had locked the target keeping a one and half Kilometre distance to the Tiger aircraft. The pilot had observed that the aircraft went down in a fireball. Since it had taken place in the dark there was no capability to video the destruction of the aircraft as the camera cannot zoom into the target in the darkness.

The missile system of the F-7 interceptor with air to air capability has been tuned only to release the missile once the target is locked over 95 per cent. Therefore, there is no doubt despite the claims by the LTTE just 12 hours after the incident that their aircraft had returned safely without giving any sign of an air attack in the morning like their earlier missions.

For the Air Force it was good day since after one and half years’ effort they were able to destroy at least one light aircraft of the LTTE.

At the same time it was a victorious moment for the troops at the Wanni SFHQ as they effectively foiled one of the major Black Tiger attacks this time came coupled with artillery and air attacks. This attack differs from the LTTE Black Tiger attack on Anuradhapura Air Base as the latter was not in LTTE artillery range.

Even after the foiled LTTE ground infiltration and the air attack, the LTTE continued to fire artillery into the Wanni SFHQ area thinking that at least a few of their Black Tiger cadres would have survived to achieve their final goal. The Security Forces detected that the 130 mm artillery round was coming from the Puliyankulam area with artillery mortar radars in Weli Oya detecting them on the radar screen.

They have changed the location of the artillery gun taking it from one place to another so that the long range artillery of the Security Forces cannot counter their artillery guns. Apart from that they have taken precautionary measures to hide these guns from SLAF aircraft after having small fires in several locations around Puliyankulam so that the pilots cannot identify from which direction the canons are fired.

One aircraft airborne to detect these guns and neutralize them had observed this tactic of the LTTE.

SLAF radar system in Vavuniya unaffected

Therefore, the Tiger artillery fire continued till 5.45 am with the firing of 80 rounds of artillery into Wanni SFHQ area. Many of them fell into open spaces inside the camp. Ten soldiers, one Police officer and a civilian were killed due to artillery fire while 20 others from the Army, Air Force and the Police sustaining injuries.

It was in the morning the Security Forces commenced search operations after artillery fire ceased around 5.45 a.m. and found 10 bodies of the Black Tiger cadres in Army uniforms. Troops also recovered satellite phones, Bangalore torpedoes, explosives, charges and Rocket Propelled Grenades, detonator cords and GPSs.

Their plan was to blast the radar control tower after infiltrating the Air Force base. The Bangalore torpedo had been taken to neutralize the mine fields which are normally laid down close to barbed wire fences. Meanwhile if they reached the Air Force radar towers they could have given the exact grid reference using their GPS to take an accurate target from their long range artillery guns located in Puliyankulam.

If not for the soldier who was at the sentry point close to the Special Forces Brigade the other Black Tiger cadres would also have arrived there to accomplish their plan accurately. But the LTTE this time would have realised that the Security Forces are far more superior to their elite Black Tiger cadres.

It is believed that these Tiger cadres have infiltrated the camp from the rear which connects to an onion cultivation in the Mundimuruppu village.

However, one point is obvious following this attack. That is, the LTTE is fast losing their well trained cadres who can accomplish their deadly terror plans as they have sent very young cadres to carry out this operation. They have sent five young girls who are in their 18s and 19s to accomplish their mission. They ultimately gave their lives for a failed mission.

Intelligence reports also indicates that the pilots of the two light aircraft had come reluctantly as they had a narrow escape when they came and dropped bombs into the Naval Dockyard in Trincomalee a few weeks back.

This is a real indication that they are on the verge of losing their elite cadres and their fighting spirit in the same manner they are losing their territory in the Wanni which they have defended for more than 25 years.

Although the LTTE claimed in media reports that they had succeeded in destroying the radar system they were not effective in their media campaign this time as they took more than 12 hours to come out with these bogus claims and figures saying their aircraft had returned safely. It is doubtful whether they had taken such a long time to come out with this statement until they collected the ashes of their aircraft so that no traces will be left for the SLAF to prove their successful mission.

At the same time they have explicitly displayed their inability to take an accurate air target even after carrying out a number of air raids targeting security installations in the South whilst the Air Force is carrying out hundreds of air raids accurately taking their targets.

The LTTE has came out with this desperate attack as they no longer can carry out this psychological game using their light aircraft as the radar system installed by the SLAF in Vavuniya effectively monitors the air movements of the LTTE.

Questions also arise as to why the LTTE made this desperate attempt targeting the radar system at this juncture. There are doubts whether the Tiger leader is planning to flee Wanni using an aircraft as his strongholds are falling daily with troops marching into Kilinochchi and Mullaitivu. They are in constant fear about their lives as the SLAF is taking accurate targets even aiming at their leaders.

It was on Wednesday that Tiger LTTE Intelligence Wing Chief Pottu Amman had a narrow escape when Air Force fighter jets pounded his Intelligence Wing headquarters west of Kilinochchi. Ground sources have confirmed that he had visited the place minutes after the bombing at a time a higher level intelligence operatives’ meeting was going on.

The SLAF received an added bonus as one of the LTTE claymore factories was also destroyed in this air raid which targeted the headquarters of the Intelligence Wing. Ground sources have confirmed after this air raid that civilians around this location were engaged in collecting bicycle balls in large quantities.

Therefore, the LTTE has no escape even in the narrow stretch of land they are controlling as the people who have been entrapped in the Wanni are passing accurate information to the Security Forces enabling the Air Force to take precise targets.

With these developments the LTTE is tipped to face a hard period in the Wanni with not only ground troops but also the Air Force challenging them with Tamil civilians too standing against them.