The following is a list of chronological attacks attributed to the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), commonly known as the Tamil Tigers .[ 1] [ 2] [ 3] The attacks include massacres , bombings , robberies, ethnic cleansing , military battles and assassinations of civilian and military targets. The LTTE is a separatist militant group that fought for a separate Tamil state in the north and east of Sri Lanka between 1976 and 2009. The rebel group has been banned by 33 countries, including the United States , United Kingdom , Canada , India , Malaysia , Sri Lanka and the 27 member nations of the European Union .
In opposition to this list, there is also the List of attacks on civilians attributed to Sri Lankan government forces .
Notable and deadliest attacks* [ edit ]
*.^ This is not the complete list, refer to the attacks by decades for a complete list of attacks
Below are the deadliest attacks from each decade.
1979
Date
Attack
Location
Sinhalese
Tamils
Muslims
Death toll
Sources
S. A. Emmanuel of Chankanai, Thaadi Thangarajah of Kondavil, A. Krishnagol of Velvettiturai, T. Poopalasingham of Chunnakam and A. Sivarajah of Thondamannar are executed by the LTTE for providing evidence against them to the police.
Jaffna District
5
5
[ 60]
PC Gnanasambandan, PC Sivanesan, Inspector Guruswamy, S. Swarnarajah and his wife are executed by the LTTE.
Jaffna District
5
5
[ 60]
1985
1990
2006
Date
Attack
Location
Sinhalese
Tamils
Muslims
Death toll
Sources
16 October
2006 Digampathana bombing : A suicide bomber in a truck kills 103 Sri Lanka Navy sailors on buses going on, or returning from, leave at a transit point and wounds over 150 other sailors. Several civilians may also have died.
Digampathana, North Central Province
103
103
[ 66]
^ Gunaratna, Rohan (3 November 2001). "Intelligence failures exposed by Tamil Tiger airport attack" . Jane's Information Group . Archived from the original on 3 March 2007. Retrieved 27 April 2007 .
^ "Consular Information Sheet – Sri Lanka" . Bureau of Consular Affairs . U.S. Department of State. 11 April 2007. Retrieved 27 April 2007 .
^ Audrey Kurth Cronin; Huda Aden; Adam Frost & Benjamin Jones (6 February 2004). "CRS Report for Congress, Foreign Terrorist Organizations" (PDF) . Bureau of Consular Affairs . The Library of Congress. Retrieved 27 April 2007 .
^ a b "Recalling the saddest day in Lankan Police history" . Lanka Newspapers . 2011. Archived from the original on 15 June 2011. Retrieved 12 June 2011 .
^ a b "Killing of 774 policemen" . Rivira . 2011. Archived from the original on 15 June 2011. Retrieved 12 June 2011 .
^ Hashim, Ahmed (2013). When Counterinsurgency Wins: Sri Lanka's Defeat of the Tamil Tigers . Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press . pp. 104–105. ISBN 978-0-8122-4452-6 .
^ "U.S. Department of State Sri Lanka Country Report on Human Rights Practices for 1996" . state.gov . US State Department. Retrieved 23 October 2023 .
^ Sivaram, S. D. (15 August 1996). "Mullaitivu: A Shattering Blow War Strategy" (PDF) . Tamil Times . Vol. XV, no. 8. Sutton, U.K. pp. 11–12. ISSN 0266-4488 . Retrieved 3 September 2011 .
^ Situation Report, By Iqbal Athas
^ Borham, Maneshka. "Soldiers missing in action: Anguished families still knocking on doors" . Sunday Observer. Retrieved 2 July 2023 .
^ Rubin, Barnett (1987). Cycles of Violence: Human Rights in Sri Lanka Since the Indo-Sri Lanka Agreement . Human Rights Watch. ISBN 9780938579434 . Retrieved 8 December 2018 .
^
Xinhua , 147 Muslims Massacred by Tamil "Tigers" in Sri Lanka, Colombo, August 4, 1990
^
"Timeline of the Tamil conflict" . BBC News . 4 September 2000. Retrieved 16 May 2007 .
^ a b Letter sent by the Permanent Representative of Sri Lanka to the Centre for Human Rights , Government of Sri Lanka , 9 August 1994
^ a b "Tamils Suspected in Massacre" . India Abroad. Reuter. 17 August 1990. ProQuest 362647438 . Retrieved 23 February 2021 .
^ Human Rights in Sri Lanka: An Update (PDF) (Report). Asia Watch. 12 March 1991. Retrieved 23 February 2021 .
^ "CHRONOLOGY-Major bombings in Sri Lanka blamed on Tamil Tigers" . Reuters . 6 October 2008. Retrieved 18 April 2024 .
^ "1987: THE BUBBLE BURSTS, Chapter 6" . UTHR(J) . Retrieved 31 December 2006 .
^ Luthra, Dumeetha (16 October 2006). "Analysis: Sri Lanka military setbacks" . BBC . Retrieved 4 November 2006 .
^ https://www.tamilnet.com/art.html?catid=13&artid=19928 [bare URL ]
^ a b "Eleven die in Sri Lankan temple suicide bomb" . BBC . 25 January 1998. Retrieved 8 April 2012 .
^ "Massacres In The Polonnaruwa District" . UTHR(J). 2006.
^ "Welcome to UTHRJ: Report 7, Chapter 2" . uthr.org .
^ "FROM BURNING HOUSES TO BURNING BODIES" (PDF) . Amnesty .
^ Refugee Status Appeals Authority (PDF) (Report). 19 April 2006.
^ "Military 'killed Lanka aid staff' " . BBC News . 30 August 2006. Retrieved 30 August 2006 .
^ "Tamil Arrested in Sri Lanka Train Bombing" . The New York Times . 4 September 1996.
^ "Colonel Kittu, A long forgotten ruthless leader, a Tamil movie wants to celebrate" . 17 August 2016.
^ "LTTE genocide at Kent and Dollar Farms" (PDF) . Daily News . 29 May 2009. Retrieved 21 April 2012 .[permanent dead link ]
^ "Sri Lanka Bomb Said to Kill Up to 60 (Published 1991)" . The New York Times . 22 June 1991. Archived from the original on 29 June 2023.
^ Criminal Occurrence description at the Aviation Safety Network . Retrieved on 21 April 2012.
^ Kamalendra, Chris (19 September 1999). "Pre-dawn horror in Ampara: 54 killed as LTTE unleashed terror on villagers" . The Sunday Times . Retrieved 21 April 2012 .
^ Latest Killing of a Sri Lanka Politician Fits a Familiar Pattern , The New York Times
^ Gamini Dissanayake, the last of men Archived 2015-06-26 at the Wayback Machine , Ceylon Today
^ "Year 1988 LTTE Atrocities" . 28 May 2015. Archived from the original on 28 May 2015.
^ Kamalendran, Chris (4 October 1998). "Lighting a candle in the storm" . The Sunday Times . Retrieved 21 April 2012 .
^ "LTTE's gun culture continues" . The Sunday Observer . 3 June 2007. Archived from the original on 30 June 2007. Retrieved 6 June 2007 .
^ "Tides Of Violence" (PDF) .
^ "Sri lanka Briefly" (PDF) .
^ "WORLD : Rebels Slaughter 29 in Sri Lanka" . Los Angeles Times . 23 January 1991.
^ correspondent, Randeep Ramesh, South Asia (16 January 2008). "Tamil Tigers kill 28 with bus bomb" . The Guardian . CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link )
^ "Sri Lanka fears more bombings as bus toll hits 26 | France 24" . 21 May 2008. Archived from the original on 21 May 2008.
^ "Deadly blasts hit Sri Lanka buses" . 6 June 2008.
^ Sri Lanka suicide bomber kills 22 , The Guardian
^ Disciplined and respected political culture soon Archived 2015-06-28 at the Wayback Machine , Daily News
^
"1986: Bomb kills 21 in Sri Lanka" . BBC . 3 May 1986. Retrieved 30 April 2008 .
^ The Assassination Of Ranjan Wijeratne , Colombo Telegraph
^ "Religious ceremonies to commemorate the LTTE attack on Temple of tooth in Sri Lanka" . Colombo Page . Sri Lanka. 25 January 2009. Archived from the original on 2 April 2015. Retrieved 11 April 2012 .
^ Nubin, Walter (2003). Sri Lanka: Current Issues and Historical Background . New York: Nova Publishers . p. 11. ISBN 978-1-59033-573-4 .
^ Tamil Tiger 'regret' over Gandhi , BBC
^ 1991: Bomb kills India's former leader Rajiv Gandhi , BBC
^ British tourists wounded in Tamil Tiger bomb blast
^ "Gulfnews: Bus bomb kills 15 in southern Sri Lanka" . 29 September 2007. Archived from the original on 29 September 2007.
^ "Sri Lanka 'suicide bomb kills 14' " . 10 March 2009.
^ Gargan, Edward A. (2 May 1993). "Suicide Bomber Kills President of Sri Lanka (Published 1993)" . The New York Times . Archived from the original on 9 April 2023.
^ Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (aka Tamil Tigers) (Sri Lanka, separatists) , Council on Foreign Relations
^ "Suicide Bomb Hits Sri Lankan Rail Station" . CBS News . 24 September 2015. Archived from the original on 24 September 2015.
^ Gunananda, A.T.M. (30 April 2006). "Gomarankadawala: "We need more security say villagers" . The Sunday Times . Retrieved 21 April 2012 .
^ Hodge, Amanda (22 September 2009). "Kamikaze raid shows the Tamil Tigers have not been tamed" . The Australian. Archived from the original on 8 May 2009. Retrieved 23 February 2009 .
^ a b Pathak, Saroj (January 2005). War Or Peace in Sri Lanka . Popular Prakshan. ISBN 978-81-7991-199-0 .
^
"Timeline of the Tamil conflict" . BBC News . 4 September 2000. Retrieved 15 December 2007 .
^
"Sri Lanka Human Rights Practices, 1995" . US State Department . US State Department . March 1996. Archived from the original on 20 March 2005.
^ Xinhua , 147 Muslims Massacred by Tamil "Tigers" in Sri Lanka, Colombo, August 3, 1990
^ Ahamath, Anosh (14 August 1990). " 'Give Arms or Cyanide': Muslims beg for protection after massacre in Sri Lanka" . The Vancouver Sun. Retrieved 23 February 2021 .
^ "Rebels Reported to Kill 119 in Sri Lanka" . The New York Times . Associated Press. 13 August 1990. Retrieved 9 February 2021 .
^ USA Today: Fighter jets pound suspected rebel camp after suicide bombing kills 95 sailors , October 17, 2006
Origins Combatants
Phases Major battles Major events Leaders
Aftermath Related topics
By past country or territory
By country or territory
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See also