Sri Lankan security forces clashed with Islamic State loyalists during a raid in Kalmunai. The Islamic State claims that 17 members of the security forces were killed, but that claim is not corroborated by independent reporting. Instead, it appears that several terrorists, along with women and children, perished in the raid.
The Islamic State’s Amaq News Agency has released a video of eight jihadists in Sri Lanka swearing allegiance to Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi before a series of bombings on Easter Sunday. The video is similar to a string of others released by Amaq since mid-2016.
The Islamic State has released three written statements and a video claiming responsibility for the bombings in Sri Lanka on Easter Sunday. The video shows the terrorists’ leader, Zahran Hashim, and seven others swearing allegiance to Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi.
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At least 68 people, including two civilians, were killed over the weekend amid clashes between security forces and Tamil Tiger rebels. At least 81 Tamil Tigers and two Army personnel were killed in fierce fighting in Sri Lanka’s restive northern areas on Monday, as troops gained control of several LTTE outposts in the rebel stronghold […]
At least 45 people were injured when a small bomb exploded in a busy market area in Sri Lanka’s capital Colombo. Military officials speaking on condition of anonymity said the blast was triggered by around 100 grams of explosives. The separatist Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) rebel group is the lead suspect in the […]
Sri Lanka’s defense ministry said its forces had killed at least 28 Tamil Tiger rebels in the latest clashes across the north of the island. Fighting in the Mannar, Vavuniya, Weli Oya, and Jaffna areas saw one soldier killed while 25 rebels and 34 soldiers were injured. Sri Lankan military jets bombed a meeting place […]
Bomb attacks on two buses in Sri Lanka have left 22 people dead and about 100 injured. Twenty people died and more than 80 were hurt in the blast in the capital while a later attack in the town of Kandy killed two and injured 20. Sri Lankan police detained more than 50 people for […]
New fighting between government forces and Tamil Tiger separatists killed 26 rebels and four soldiers in the Vavuniya, Mannar, Welioya and Jaffna areas. Troops killed 19 rebels and lost three soldiers during heavy fighting in Mannar district while other battles in Welioya and Jaffna killed four rebels. Sri Lanka’s Tamil Tiger rebels condemned government moves […]
Sri Lanka’s military sank four Tamil Tiger rebel boats off the island’s northern coast after a battle that killed eight rebels and one soldier. The rebel boats were sunk when troops fired artillery at them as they attempted to attack army and naval positions in Sirutheevu off northern Jaffna. The Tamil Tiger rebel group dismissed […]
At least seven people have been killed and 62 injured in a bombing during rush hour on a packed Sri Lankan commuter train. The blast hit the Colombo-Panadura train in Dehiwala station, in a suburb of the capital Colombo. Ground battles between Sri Lankan troops and separatist rebels killed 21 guerrillas and one solider in […]
The pro-government Tamil Makkal Viduthalai Puligal (TMVP), led by the former LTTE commander Karuna, ambushed a group of fifty LTTE men fleeing the coastal town of Vaharai and killed 13 of them in Kirimichchai. The Sri Lankan navy also reported destroying two Tamil Tiger naval boats. The ceasefire is effectively ended.
4 Sri Lankan government troops were killed as control of Vakarai, the eastern stronghold of the LTTE, was seized. Several thousand civilians are fleeing the renewed violence. The Sri Lanka government says it is working to share power with Tamils.
The crew of a Jordanian ship was released to the Red Cross today by the LTTE. The LTTE also threw a grenade at policemen guarding a church in northwestern Sri Lanka, killing one. Germany has frozen aid to the nation until the peace process resumes.
LTTE leader Prabhakaran declared three days for mourning for his best friend Anton Balasingham, the LTTE’s chief negotiator and ideologue, who died from cancer. A powerful roadside bomb was found in northern Sri Lanka shortly before an army convoy was to pass through. 3000 Tamils flee the troubled South to government-held territory.
Over 3000 civilians flee Sri Lanka’s northeast to escape heavy artillery duels between the military and the LTTE. Both sides have accused the other of targeting civilians. The Red Cross called on both sides to protect the civilian populations.
The Tamil Tigers have executed a seaborne suicide raid on a Sri Lankan naval base, killing 1 soldier and 15 Tigers. The attack followed a suicide attack on a group of sailors that killed over 103. The Counterterrorism Blog has more background information on the conflict.