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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Fair, C. Christine.
Urban battle fields of South Asia : lessons learned from Sri Lanka, India, and
Pakistan / C. Christine Fair.
p. cm.
“MG-210.”
Includes bibliographical references.
ISBN 0-8330-3682-3 (pbk.)
1. Urban warfare—Sri Lanka. 2. Urban warfare—India. 3. Urban warfare—Pakistan.
4. Terrorism—Sri Lanka—Prevention. 5. Terrorism—India—Prevention. 6.
Terrorism—Pakistan—Prevention. 7. War on Terrorism, 2001– I. Title.
U167.5.S7F35 2004

This effort will specifically focus upon the operational and tactical as-
iv Urban Battle Fields of South Asia
pects of the selected campaigns. It will not address the political, eco-
nomic and sociological dimensions of these cases, which have been
amply addressed by the literature on these conflicts.
This monograph has several purposes. First, it seeks to garner
operational insights from the experiences of countries that may en-
hance the Army’s ability to operate in the urban environment. Sec-
ond, it identifies common structural similarities within the militant
organizations in question that might be targeted to degrade their
ability to project power. Third, as these states are all partners to vari-
ous extents in the global war on terrorism, this report describes ways
to improve security cooperation programs with these states. Finally, it
lists key insights from these countries that may inform U.S. stability
operations in Afghanistan, Iraq, and future operations.
This research is a part of a larger effort led by RAND Arroyo
Center to identify current U.S. force requirements for urban contin-
gency planning and to develop innovative approaches for doing so.
This monograph will be of interest to individuals within the govern-
ment whose responsibilities include doctrine, policy designs, plan-
ning, and preparation to support civil or military operation in urban
environments. It will also be of interest to individuals interested in
structural features of organizations using terrorism to achieve their
objectives.
Research in conjunction with this report was undertaken for the
U.S. Army Training and Doctrine Command (TRADOC) and was
conducted in RAND Arroyo Center’s Force Development and Tech-
nology Program. RAND Arroyo Center, part of the RAND Corpora-
tion, is a federally funded research and development center sponsored
by the United States Army.

Summary of the Findings
6
Organization of This Report
9
CHAPTER TWO
Sri Lanka 11
Preview of the Findings
11
Introduction to the Case
15
Background to the Tamil Militancy
16
Background on the LTTE
20
The Indian Peacekeeping Force (July 29, 1987 to March 24, 1990)
20
vi Urban Battle Fields of South Asia
The LTTE’s Ascendancy 23
LTTE Organization and Function
24
LTTE: A Global Operator
30
The LTTE’s Relationship with India
34
LTTE: Contacts and Training with Other Militant Organizations
36
Suicide Bombing and the Black Tigers Cadres
37
Adoption and Innovation of the Suicide Attack
38

Khalistan Commando Force
77
Khalistan Liberation Force
78
Campaigns of Violence
80
Militant Targeting and Innovations
83
Operations in Amritsar and Ludhiana
84
Militancy in Amritsar and Operation Black Thunder
86
Innovations of the Punjab Police
90
Summary
97
CHAPTER FOUR
Pakistan 101
Preview of the Argument
101
Contents vii
Introduction to the Cases 102
The Twin Urban Menaces of Sectarian and Inter-Ethnic Violence
104
Major Sectarian Militant Organizations
107
Inter-Ethnic Violence: The Muttehida Qaumi Movement
113
Violent Synergies
116

2.5. Suicide Attacks Carried Out by Various Groups (1980–2000)
41
2.6. Map of Jaffna Peninsula
63
3.1. Map of Punjab (India)
86
4.1. Map of Pakistan
115

xi
Tables
2.1. Sri Lanka’s Ethnic Composition 19

xiii
Summary
Sri Lanka, India, and Pakistan all have extensive experience in dealing
with militant groups that employ violence to achieve their objectives.
Although much of this experience has been gained in rural or jungle
terrain, all three states have wrestled with terrorism in urban envi-
ronments as well. This research assesses several sustained campaigns
of urban violence in South Asia to draw out the evolution of groups
employing terrorism and to exposit the way in which each state at-
tempted to counter the ever-changing threat.
The lessons learned from the manifestations of urban terrorism
are numerous. First, this exercise illuminated numerous structural
similarities among groups that use terror as an instrument within the
three states considered. For example, most have developed globalized
networks to support their operations and sustain their organization.
Second, the United States is currently engaged with these states in the
global war on terrorism in various capacities and through differing

underscores the importance of understanding the best practices of
terror utilization, as other groups employing terror are likely to take
advantage of this knowledge. These networks can also be used to en-
courage co-ethnics and co-religionists spread throughout the diaspora
to espouse particular movements’ causes. Co-ethnics and co-
religionists living in the West have been able to exploit the political
systems there to create environments that are favorable to their
movement’s objectives. One of the key institutions in these trans-state
networks is the university. Universities emerge as important sources
of manpower as well as technical expertise. While the international
community understands the financial aspects of these networks, it is
less clear how much attention other dimensions receive.
This report also finds several common weaknesses within the
states that these groups exploit, such as the lack of communication
______________________________________________________
and which . . . could be ignored or handled in a latter time frame. The insurgents too, from
the very start of their movement, endeavor to dominate the ‘population terrain’ and usually
score over the [counterintelligence] forces, who start on the wrong foot by expending all their
energies and resources on trying to dominate only the insurgents.”
Summary xv
and intelligence sharing across jurisdictional lines of police and other
authorities. Limiting terrorist groups’ power projection requires a co-
herent state response that incorporates national and local law en-
forcement and intelligence entities. It requires that intelligence flow
up and down between the central and local authorities as well as hori-
zontally among and between various law enforcement and intelli-
gence groups within the state and federal sectors. Groups also exploit
the lack of language assets within the state security apparatus. The Sri
Lankan army, police, and intelligence agencies have very few Tamil
language interpreters. Diasporan organizations operating in the

may have value to the U.S. forces in their current and future urban
challenges. All of these states are complex societies with richly diverse
populations. Some of the empirical evidence garnered from Pakistan’s
Islamicized community-policing model and Sri Lanka’s vigilance
committees may offer some insight for U.S. police operations in
similarly complex social environments.
xvii
Acknowledgments
Dr. Russell Glenn has been a source of wisdom, guidance, and inspi-
ration. I am grateful to Dr. Glenn for believing in this project and
obtaining funding to execute it. His advice has enhanced its value. I
am also indebted to many Foreign Army Area Officers of the U.S.
Army who have been a constant source of insight and knowledge.
Colonel Richard Girven, the current Defense Attaché in Colombo,
has been generous with his time during this project as well as several
other projects at RAND. Colonel Girven arranged numerous meet-
ings in Sri Lanka, without which the chapter on that country would
have been far less interesting. In addition, the Operations Coordina-
tor of the DAO Office in Colombo, IS1 Albert G. Dobias, imparted
a wealth of information about the Tamil Tigers. Colonel Steven
Sboto has been a vast resource in understanding the capabilities of the
Indian army and the threat with which it must contend. Also, Dr.
Ajai Sahni of the Institute of Conflict Management in New Delhi has
been tremendously helpful in arranging a broad swath of meetings
with India’s key internal security managers. I am particularly grateful
to all of the officers of the Punjab police who were generous with
their time. Colonel Dave Smith, who was the Army Attaché in Is-
lamabad until quite recently, has provided key observations about
Pakistan and its internal security challenges for years. I am also thank-
ful to all of the journalists and analysts in Pakistan who spent time

xx Urban Battle Fields of South Asia
KCF Khalistan Commando Force
Kfir Israeli Built Aircraft
KLF Khalistan Liberation Force
LeJ Lashkar-e-Jhangvi (“Army of Jhang”)
LeT Lashkar-e-Taibba (“Army of the Pure”)
LTTE Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (a.k.a. “Tamil
Tigers”)
MQM Muttehida Qaumi Movement (“United National
Movement”; formerly Muhajir Qaumi Movement,
or “Migrants National Movement”)
NGO Nongovernmental Organization
PFLP Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine
PKK Kurdistan Workers’ Party
PLOTE People’s Liberation Organization for Tamil Eelam
PSYOP Psychological Operations
RAW Research and Analysis Wing
RDX Royal Demolition eXplosive; 1,3,5-trinitro-1,3,5-
triazine (a.k.a. cyclonite or hexogen)
SB Special Branch (in Pakistan and Sri Lanka)
SGPC Shiromani Gurdwara Prabandhak Committee
SLA Sri Lankan Army
SMP Sipah-e-Muhammed Pakistan (“Army of
Muhammed”)
SSP Sipah-e-Sahaba-e-Pakistan (“Guardians of the Friends
of the Prophet”)
TELO Tamil Eelam Liberation Organization
TJP Tehrik-e-Jaffria Pakistan (“Movement of Followers of
the Jaffria sect (Fiqah-e-Jaffria)”)
Glossary xxi

land), Jaffna. Pakistan has been battling, with various degrees of dedi-
cation, forms of violence that are almost exclusively urban phenom-
ena: sectarian violence between militarized Shi’a and Sunni