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LTTE provided Tamil translations on war strategy

July 19, 2009 22:06 IST
A perfect strategist who undertook operations against the Sri Lankan army methodically, Velupillai Prabhakaran provided Tamil translations on English language books on war strategy to his cadres to take on the government forces.

English books on war strategy with Tamil translations and maps showing Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam sea routes and several personal documents of Prabhakaran, including bank account details, were some of the articles recovered from Wanni with the help of the slain LTTE chief's personal assistant and body guard.

The Tamil translations were provided to the LTTE cadres during the war against the Sri Lankan army. Files with more than 270 personal documents belonging to Prabhakaran in three large plastic containers were recovered from Vellamullivaikkal, the final 'no fire zone' in the 30-year-old civil war, in Mullaittivu.

Deputy Inspector General of Police Anura Senanayaka said the articles were recovered at the end of a six-day search operation conducted by a police team in the former LTTE-held areas.

The documents also relate to the purchase of weapons and countries of origin, weapon transport schedules, military plans of the outfit, bank account details and details of military personnel, the Sunday Nation reported.

"The team also uncovered a plastic barrel containing what is believed to be Eastern Province LTTE leader Swaranams personal belongings, including a mini-pistol and an M16 weapon," the newspaper reported.

The recovered articles also included a document on plans drawn up by Prabhakaran's deputy Pottu Amman, details of operations in Colombo and the LTTE chief's own plans.

According to SP Gunawardena, who was involved in the operations, the search party also recovered communication equipment used by the LTTE to monitor the movements of Sri Lanka air force jets and transmissions from unmanned aerial vehicles.

Satellite phones, laptops, fax machines, antennas, cables and other items were among the recoveries made, the police official was quoted as saying by the paper.

According to SI Nishantha Hettiarachchi, the officer who led the CCD team, the documents and equipment had been buried in the last days of the final battle between the armed forces and the LTTE.

In separate searches in the vicinity, the search party found anti-aircraft missiles, parts of 120 mm, 130mm and 152 mm artillery guns, chemicals and 33 LTTE suicide kits, as well as photographs of LTTE suicide cadres.

The photographs showed LTTE cadres involved in the attack on the Anuradhapura air base, the newspaper said, adding one photograph showed cadres posing with Prabhakaran.

Other finds included a uniform and a personal file belonging to a suicide bomber, and a document giving details of missions carried out by Black Tigers, it said.

T V Sriram in Colombo
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