Penetration team attacked

[TamilNet, Thursday, 08 April 1999, 08:06 GMT]
The Tigers announced in the Vanni today that two SLA soldiers were killed and more than five wounded when they attacked an SLA unit that had penetrated into the Muththaiyyan Kattu area in the Mullaithivu district on Tuesday April 6. The others in the SLA penetration team, according to the LTTE, had escaped from the scene of the attack.

The Tigers said that they had recovered two hand grenades, two bombs, two magazines, two hundred medium rounds and five AK rifle magazines from the SLA.

Muththaiyyan Kattu is about 7 kilometers north of Oddusuddaan through the jungles. The former is under the LTTE's control and the latter is held by the SLA.

The SLA has, since it called off Operation Jaya Sikurui, adopted the strategy of sending out special forces units deep into LTTE controlled territory to ambush, as it does in the east, Tiger parties and convoys. These operations will limit the tactical mobility of the LTTE in its own heartland and help familiarise the special forces (SF) with the jungle terrain of the Vanni currently dominated by the Tigers the SLA claims. The success of deep penetration operations, according to army planners in Colombo, could eventually help the (SF) take on key leaders of the Liberation Tigers.

Meanwhile, Sri Lankan military sources in Batticaloa said this morning that a group of ex-Tamil militants working with the local unit of the directorate of military intelligence which penetrated into the LTTE held western hinterland yesterday had ambushed and killed a Tiger identified as Akkaachchi near the Kaali temple in Karayaakkan Theevu.

The group had recovered a T 56 assault rifle from the Tiger. They claimed he was a local area leader of the LTTE. The military intelligence group returned to their base behind the Batticaloa hospital before the Tigers could retaliate the SLA sources said.