The following is a list of chronological attacks attributed to the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), commonly known as the Tamil Tigers. 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
Notes
- *. This is not the complete list, refer to the attacks by decades for a complete list of attacks
Attacks by decade
Below are the deadliest attacks from each decade.
1970s
Main article: List of attacks attributed to the LTTE, 1970s- 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 | ||||
PC Gnanasambandan, PC Sivanesan, Inspector Guruswamy, S. Swarnarajah and his wife are executed by the LTTE. | Jaffna District | 5 | 5 |
1980s
Main article: List of attacks attributed to the LTTE, 1980s- 1985
Date | Attack | Location | Sinhalese | Tamils | Muslims | Death toll | Sources |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
14 May | Anuradhapura massacre: LTTE gunmen shoot dead 146 Sinhalese civilians and injure 85 others as they were praying at Jaya Sri Maha Bodhi, a sacred Buddhist shrine in Anuradhapura. | Anuradhapura, Anuradhapura District | 146 | 146 |
1990s
Main article: List of attacks attributed to the LTTE, 1990s- 1990
Date | Attack | Location | Sinhalese | Tamils | Muslims | Death toll | Sources |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
11 June | 1990 massacre of Sri Lankan Police officers: Over 600 unarmed police officers are shot dead by the LTTE in Police Stations across eastern Sri Lanka | Eastern Province | 600–774 | ||||
3 August | Kattankudy mosque massacre: 147 Muslim males were gunned down in two mosque during evening prayers by the LTTE. | Kattankudy | 147 | 147 | |||
11 August | 1990 Eravur massacre: Dozens of Muslim villagers killed by the LTTE in Eravur. | Eravur | 116-173 | 116-173 |
2000s
Main article: List of attacks attributed to the LTTE, 2000s- 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 |
Attacks by type
Suicide bombings
Main article: Suicide bombings in Sri LankaAssassinations
Main article: List of people assassinated by the Liberation Tigers of Tamil EelamSee also
- List of attacks on civilians attributed to Sri Lankan government forces
- List of people assassinated by the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam
References
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- "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.
- ^ "Recalling the saddest day in Lankan Police history". Lanka Newspapers. 2011. Archived from the original on 15 June 2011. Retrieved 12 June 2011.
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- 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
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- ^ Letter sent by the Permanent Representative of Sri Lanka to the Centre for Human Rights, Government of Sri Lanka, 9 August 1994
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- https://www.tamilnet.com/art.html?catid=13&artid=19928
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- 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.
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- correspondent, Randeep Ramesh, South Asia (16 January 2008). "Tamil Tigers kill 28 with bus bomb". The Guardian.
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has generic name (help)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.
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- Disciplined and respected political culture soon Archived 2015-06-28 at the Wayback Machine, Daily News
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- 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.
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- ^ Pathak, Saroj (January 2005). War Or Peace in Sri Lanka. Popular Prakshan. ISBN 978-81-7991-199-0.
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- 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
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