In early years, most of the operations conducted by the Commando Regiment are
Covert operations. A successful small group raid was done in 1990 In
Mallakam in the Jaffna peninsula. By Delta Patrol of 1st Commando Regiment. Another successful raid was done in Welioya Thannimuruppu Kulam area in 1993 by a small team of Bravo Group of 2nd Commando Regiment. LTTE's Colonel Amudan alias Thambi (tag no 0003) was also killed in 1994 creating a great impact on the chain of command of the LTTE. Commando Regiment deployed its units in Colombo on following LTTE attacks •
1997 Colombo WTC Bombing & Lakehouse Hostage Crisis •
Rajagiriya Ayurveda junction bombing and hostages situation in Serpentine flats. •
Bandaranaike Airport attack With the commencement of the 4th phase of the
Sri Lankan civil war (often cited as
4th Eelam war), the Commandos and Special Forces were tasked to conduct deep operations to disrupt and deny the freedom of action of
Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE). Commandos were able to disorientate the LTTE Leadership by conducting ambushes and raids by inflicting attrition on LTTE, thus forcing them to deploy more troops for their rear area security. Their operations shaped up the battlefield creating a favorable situation to launch a historical major offensive to liberate Eastern Province from LTTE.
Long Range Reconnaissance Patrol Missions The Long Range Reconnaissance Patrol (LRRP) is the only black operations unit of the Sri Lanka Army. This unit is operated under the Directorate of Military Intelligence of the Army and it is composed of personnel from the Commando Regiment and Special Forces Regiment.
Operation Thoppigala The 3rd Commando Regiment participated in the military offensive which was launched to capture the ''Thoppigala (Baron's Cap)
from Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) during the period of June/July 2007. They managed to seize the rocky plateau which had been named by the LTTE as Tora Bora''. Around 200 LTTE cadres were killed during the entire offensive.
Capture of the Unnichchai tank bund After a successful operation to capture Vakarai and Sampur by the Special Forces Brigade, the Commandos were tasked to capture the LTTE strongholds around Thoppigala and Narakamulla. Gaining control of the A–5 road which runs from Maha Oya to Batticaloa via Chenkaladi was essential to gaining access to the jungles of Thoppigala. From Pullumale to Black Bridge at Chenkalladi road was totally controlled by the LTTE. Further, the LTTE was operating freely in the jungles between the A−27 and A−5 roads. Hence, it was essential to gain control of this portion of the road and in the jungles, to launch an operation to destroy the bastion of Thoppigala. However, the A-27 road which runs from Maha Oya to Potuvil and the road from Trikonamadu to Kalmunai were controlled by the Army but was vulnerable to the LTTE attacks. After finalizing plans for a major operation, the mobilization of assigned troops commenced in preparation for launching a decisive attack against LTTE strongholds in the theatre. However, intelligence revealed that the LTTE planned to destroy the Unnichchai tank bund if the Security Forces launched an operation to gain control over the area. They intended to inundate the area by destroying the tank bund to destabilize the government and ultimately spoil the security forces' plan. In this backdrop, commandos were tasked to capture the Unichchai Tank bund intact to facilitate the major offensive. The capture of Unnichchai tank bund was one of the most significant raids conducted by commandos to facilitate break out of the major offensive to capture the LTTE stronghold Thoppigala.
Reconnaissance missions •
Periyamadu rescue (22 November 2001): An eight-man Special Mission Patrol (
Long Range Reconnaissance Patrol) (LRRP) led by Lieutenant Udesha Ratnayake was surrounded by the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) at Periyamadu, near Tunukkai in Vanni region at least 25 km inside the enemy lines after an anti-personnel mine blast which injured two of them. This special patrol was planned ambush Poonarin - Paranthan road to take high-value terrorist targets at the Poonarin area. Unfortunately, this incident happened at 1945hrs on 21st and the team managed to survive till 1250 hrs on 22 November with one serious casualty. The trapped team was rescued by the Helicopter Squadron(01-Bell 212,2-MI24,1-MI17 Helicopters) of SLAF(Mission Pilot-Fl.Lt. Sudam Kaluaarachchi. It had taken exactly one-hour airborne time which included 28 minutes in LTTE held area and 50 seconds landing, rescue, and take-off time. Four helicopters had flown in at an altitude of 195 feet(treetop level). The whole operation was led by Major. Upali Rajapaksha RWP RSP (2IC-2 CR)of Commando Regiment who launched the operation and inducted to the location by the leading helicopter from Hingurakgoda Air Force base. This mission was conducted under extremely bad weather conditions and this was the first-ever rescue mission of this nature conducted by elite forces of Sri Lanka Army. == Parama Weera Vibhushanaya recipients ==