COLOMBO : As the ongoing ‘Exercise Cormorant Strike XI -2021’ of the Army is in full swing, rehearsing troops on Sunday (12) after entering the Colombo Harbour staged a daring mission to rescue the hypothetical Fisheries and Harbour Minister of Concordia who had been taken hostage by mock Eastasian Liberation Fighters (ELF) inside the International Container Terminal of the Colombo Harbour.
The mock operation, closely watched by General Shavendra Silva, Chief of Defence Staff and Commander of the Army through a zoom platform from the Operations Room at the Army HQ was staged by 4 Commando Regiment troops after an impressive and strategic entry into the enemy stronghold.
The task was undertaken by the Special Operations Commander who afterwards directed the Brigade Commander of the 4 Commando Regiment to reach the exact location with the 4 Commandos’ Anti Hijack and Hostage Rescue unit. As expected, those troops completed the mission convincingly by rescuing the Fisheries and Harbour Minister of Concordia, held captive unharmed after a close tussle at the International Container Terminal of the Colombo Harbour.
The mission was spearheaded under the supervision of the Mission Commander, Lieutenant Colonel B Kekulawala of the 4 Commando Regiment. Entering secretly at first from the northern entry point, and later on through other multiple entrances and aerial manoevures, the rehearsal was successfully accomplished after bringing the enemy under control before they were delivered to local law enforcement authorities before the troops phased out from the setting.
The entire mock operation was closely monitored through zoom setting and clearly observed by foreign troops, inclusive of some of the Senior Officers, attached to the Military Forces of India, Maldivian Army and Oman’s Army.
General Shavendra Silva at the Army HQ was joined by Major General Priyantha Perera, Chief of Staff, Major General Sampath Kotuwegoda, Deputy Chief of Staff, Major General Harendra Ranasinghe, Exercise Director and Commander, Reserve Strike Corps, Major General Sanjaya Wanasinghe, Adjutant General, Major General Crishantha Gnarathne, General Officer Commanding 14 Division, Deputy Director of the ‘Exercise Major General Anil Samarasiri, Chief Adviser of the Exercise Cormorant Strike, Brigadier Sanka Jayamaha and a few more senior Army officers.
