| Battle of Point Pedro (2007) | |||||||
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| Part of the Sri Lankan Civil War | |||||||
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| Belligerents | |||||||
| <templatestyles src="Tree list/styles.css" /> | <templatestyles src="Tree list/styles.css" /> | ||||||
| Strength | |||||||
| several patrol boats and helicopter gunships |
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| Casualties and losses | |||||||
| none |
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The Battle of Point Pedro 2007 was a naval battle that occurred on June 19, 2007 near Point Pedro,[1] Jaffna, Sri Lanka. The battle took place when Sri Lankan Navy patrol boats were attacked by a group of Tamil Tiger patrol boats off the shore of Point Pedro.
Prelude[]
The LTTE sea tigers and the Sri Lankan Navy have had multiple open water skirmishes over the duration of the war, notable ones including the Battle of Point Pedro (2006). The battle of Point Pedro 2006, had taken place when patrol boats escorting a 700 man naval troop transport, came under attack by tiger patrol boats and a suicide craft, aimed at sinking the transport vessel. The attack was eventually repelled through Lieutenant Commander Edirisinghe ramming the suicide craft with his patrol boat causing the explosion and the remaining LTTE boats to retreat.[2]
Attack[]
The battle had begun when the Sri Lankan Navy attempted to recover a patrol boat that had been drifting out in the open sea and had eventually drifted out into Tiger controlled waters.[3] Fighting erupted when 24 tiger patrol boats, ambushed the government forces as they reached the drifting boat. The Navy repelled the attack through the use of Mil Mi-24 helicopter gunships and the patrol boats dispatched initially. The Sri Lankan government estimated rebel losses at 40 men killed and nine patrol boats destroyed.[4]
Aftermath in 2008[]
The following year in November 2008, chief petty officer K. G. Shantha was killed in action, after he rammed his arrow-class patrol boat against a suicide craft, that had aimed to detonate when in proximity of a group of naval vessels, off the shore of Point Pedro.[5] The attack was successfully thwarted and Shantha was awarded the highest Sri Lankan military award, the Parama Weera Vibhushanaya. This information however, was contested as the LTTE claimed to have successfully sunk two naval vessels.[6]
References[]
- ↑ "Sri Lankan navy in 'Tiger clash'". http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/6769293.stm.
- ↑ "‘Lest we forget...’". https://www.dailynews.lk/2019/07/02/features/189918/%E2%80%98lest-we-forget%E2%80%99.
- ↑ "Sri Lanka navy destroys Tiger boats". https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2007/6/20/sri-lanka-navy-destroys-tiger-boats.
- ↑ "Sri Lanka says kills dozens of rebels in sea battle". https://www.abc.net.au/news/2007-06-20/sri-lanka-says-kills-dozens-of-rebels-in-sea-battle/74624.
- ↑ Blacker, David (4 June 2012). "Parama Weera: What it takes, and what it means". Archived from the original on 6 September 2012. https://web.archive.org/web/20120906065112/http://www.nation.lk/edition/special/item/6825-parama-weera-what-it-takes-and-what-it-means.html. Retrieved 18 December 2021.
- ↑ Reddy, Muralidhar (2 November 2008). "Fierce battle between Sri Lanka Navy, LTTE". http://www.hindu.com/2008/11/02/stories/2008110255470900.htm. Retrieved 18 December 2021.
The original article can be found at Battle of Point Pedro (2007) and the edit history here.