Battle of Nelliady

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Battle of Nelliady
Part of Eelam War I and the Sri Lankan Civil War
Date 5 July 1987 Location Nelliady, Jaffna District, Sri Lanka 9°48′12.20″N 80°12′10.70″E / 9.8033889°N 80.2029722°E / 9.8033889; 80.2029722 Result LTTE tactical victory SLA strategic victory
Belligerents
Sri Lanka	Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam
Commanders and leaders
Gen Cyril Ranatunga	V. Prabhakaran
Units involved
Gemunu Watch, Sri Lanka Armoured Corps	Black Tigers
Strength
~150 troops	~50 militants
Casualties and losses
19 killed 31 wounded[1]	1 killed 2 suicide bombers detonated
Nelliady Central College class=notpageimage| Location of base in Northern Province, Sri Lanka

The Battle of Nelliady took place during the early stages of the Sri Lankan Civil War. It occurred on 5 July 1987, when a force of 50 LTTE militants assaulted the Sri Lanka Army Camp located in the Nelliady Central College in the town of Nelliady in the Jaffna District in northern Sri Lanka. The attack was the bloodiest battle for the Sri Lankan forces since the Vadamarachchi Operation in June 1987, which cleared the area of Nelliady of LTTE militants. The attack on Nelliady army camp resulted in the Sri Lankan forces suffering 19 killed and 31 wounded, while LTTE executed its first suicide bombing which was carried out by Captain Miller.^[1][2][3]