It was a relatively saner week compared to a fortnight back when bloody mayhem was enacted inside public transport twice within eight hours.

The first week of June bore witness to three attacks on public transport in the south — in Dehiwela, Katubedda and Polgolla, with two of these attacks killing 24 and injuring over 80 innocent people. The toll would have been more if not for the strict security measures adopted on the Panadura bound train that thwarted Jayatheesan Balasubrama- nium from carrying out what he intended.

He botched the plan and fled and was caught later that very night at the Irrattaperiyakulam checkpoint in Vavuniya. The attacks of public transport had forced stringent security measures with the upper racks and the area under the seat of private buses now barred from being used as baggage compartments.

Getting on a bus from Colombo sometimes feels like getting on an airline in the height of a terror alert. All bags are checked and before departure an official reads off a yellow sheet, alerting passengers to be wary of unattended parcels.

There have been at least 16 attacks on transport used by the public since January 16, the day when the ceasefire fell and of the first attack, at Helegama in Buttala where 27 were killed. At least 12 of the attacks have taken place in government controlled areas and the government has blamed the Tigers.

The Tigers have denied any hand in the attacks, but last week a shadow group that has been associated with the Tigers in the past e-mailed a statement to media organisations claiming responsibility.

The Ellalan Force said that it was responsible for the attacks in an e-mail sent on June 9, evening, Sri Lankan time using a Gmail account. The mailed message was also available on a blog site, that had only one other posting — a picture posted this February.

The message under the title A Stern Warning of Revenge read: "We the ‘Ellalan Force’ won’t allow the killings of innocent Tamil civilians anymore. We want to claim that we are responsible for the bomb attacks on the transport vehicles and other attacks as stern replies to the following Long Range Reconnaissance Patrol attacks and aerial bombings of the Sri Lankan Government and its Forces."

The name Ellalan is derived from the Tamil King Elara. And this is not the first time that a group with such a name had claimed responsibility for attacks.

It was in the news in 2004 up to mid 2006 when attacks against the security forces ratcheted up since the 2002 ceasefire. Some observers have linked the group to the Tigers and say that it is a mere front. The group itself during its early days said in some of its media releases that it was made up of civilians.

"In the wake of the election, the LTTE’s death squad, the Ellalan Force (Ellalan Padai) is up to its old tricks in Jaffna. Its role: to reassert the LTTE’s control over the local population through terror. The Ellalan Force functions as the LTTE’s moral police — violently eliminating persons it deems "anti-social" elements. It also functions as a political hit squad, blamed for the murders of many of the LTTE’s political opponents, among them, the Jaffna Mayors Sarojini Yogeswaran and Sivapalan who belonged to the Tamil United Liberation Front (TULF)," the University Teachers for Human Rights (UTHR) said in a report released in late May 2004.

"A warning from Ellalan Force (LTTE) to those having contacts with the popular Thendral programme, broadcast over Jaffna FM, appeared in a Jaffna daily and a LTTE web-site. The victim’s role was mainly to do with advertising and had no political implications," it said again in a report titled Political Killings and Rituals of Unreality released in July 22, 2005 commenting on the murder of Joe Egdon, Jaffna agent of the SLBC, killed on July 2, that year.

UTHR said in its Bulletins No.42 and 43, referring to the murder of Yasothiny Narayanamoorthy (25), in November 2006, that "the young woman from the Odai area near Pt. Pedro was shot dead by LTTE gunmen who followed her on a motorcycle. The incident took place at Pandari Amman Temple, Thambasiddy, near Pt. Pedro where the young woman was travelling on a bicycle. The Ellalan Force (i.e. the LTTE) claimed responsibility, as usual declaring the woman to be a traitor who was involved in anti-social activities. She was in fact a health apprentice at Pt. Pedro Hospital, and we understand that she had gone to the EPDP, as with many people who seek the usual political favours with regard to government employment and transfers, to have her position made permanent."

The group has however remained out of the limelight in the last year and a half till it resurfaced last week. The Tigers have denied any links with the group and have said that they were not responsible for the attacks on civilians in Colombo and other areas in the south.

The Tigers last also carried out another attack on a small Navy detachment on the coast in the north.

Tigers used the early morning darkness on June 11 to sneak up on the navy detachment at Erukkalamppiddi on the northeastern shores of the Mannar island. This is the third such attack since May 29 when the Tigers used the same tactics to attack a similar navy and army joint detachment on the small island of Chiraiththivu off the Jaffna mainland.

Two weeks back it said that Sea Tigers attacked a navy post on the Nagarkovil coast on the eastern shores of the Peninsula on June 5 early morning. Then came last week’s attack.

The Tigers said that members from the Sea Tiger unit named Lt. Col. Cheran unit in six boats took part in the pre-dawn attack that started around 2.15 am. Erukkalamppiddi is located about seven kilometres north of Mannar town and is also close to the bay that is used by fishermen and civilians who flee the Tiger areas using boats.

The Tigers said that the attackers were in control of the detachment till 3.45 a.m when they withdrew with arms, ammunition and also destroyed the electricity generator at the detachment. The Tigers had been led by two cadres named Viduthalai and Ilanko.

The boats had originated from the Vidathalthivu bay area on the main- land, about seven km. from Mannar island. It is a known operational point of the Tigers on the northwestern shores, used by the Tigers to off-load supplies brought from South India. Indian trawlers that poach in the area are also used by the Tigers to supply as well as cover.

The Tigers said that nine soldiers manning the post and five cadres were killed in the attack. The navy said that four sailors were killed while three others were injured.

The government said that the attack was thwarted and that fleeing Tiger boats were targeted by Mi-24 helicopters that have been deployed in the area to assist ground operations.

The Tigers said that the attack was launched to commemorate the death of a senior cadre named Gadafi, who was killed by government forces operating ahead of the FDL about two months back. The government also said that the attack may have been carried out as a deterrent to civilians who plan to flee to Mannar from Tiger held areas.

In all three attacks the Tigers have used small but fast moving boats mounted with powerful outboard engines to cross shallow seas and launch the attacks. The seas off Mannar and the Killai lagoon in Jaffna are made up of shallow waters where the navy’s larger crafts cannot manoeuver without running the risk of hitting sand beds.

On May 28, Sea Tiger head Soosai had briefed cadres who took part in the morning attack the next day, according to pro-Tiger websites.

The army last week announced that two new divisions have been added to the five already fighting the Tigers on the Wanni frontlines. Task Force 2 and 61 Divisions joins 53, 55, 57, 58 and 59, Divisions arrayed against the Tigers from Mannar to Welioya and along the Muhamalai axis.

In an interview with a state newspaper, Army Commander, Lt. Gen. Sarath Fonseka estimated that the main hideout of the Tiger leader Velupillai Pirapaharan may be just 21 km north of where troops were operating in the Welioya area.

Troops operating ahead of the Welioya defences have reached satellite camps of one of the major Tiger camps in the area — the One Four base and according to the commander, Pirapaharan was being targeted by the troops on several fronts.