Operation Trishul, along with Operation Viraat

Operation Viraat

Operation Viraat , along with Operation Trishul, was an anti-insurgency operation launched by the IPKF against the LTTE in April 1988 in Northern Sri Lanka, in the provinces of Mannar to Mullaitivu and Elephant Pass to Vavuniya....

, was an anti-insurgency operation launched by the IPKF against the LTTE in April 1988 in Northern Sri Lanka

Sri Lanka

Sri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka is a country off the southern coast of the Indian subcontinent. Known until 1972 as Ceylon , Sri Lanka is an island surrounded by the Indian Ocean, the Gulf of Mannar and the Palk Strait, and lies in the vicinity of India and the...

, in the provinces of Mannar

Mannar, Sri Lanka

Mannar , formerly spelled Manar, is the capital of Mannar District, Sri Lanka. It is located on Mannar Island.Mannar is known for its baobab trees and for its fort, built by the Portuguese in 1560 and taken by the Dutch in 1658 and rebuilt; its ramparts and bastions are intact, though the interior...

 to Mullaitivu

Mullaitivu

Mullaitivu is a small town on the north-eastern coast of Sri Lanka. It is the capital of Mullaitivu District in the Northern Province of Sri Lanka. A largely fishing settlement, the town in the early 20th century grew as an anchoring harbour of the small sailing vessels transporting goods between...

 and Elephant Pass

Elephant Pass

Elephant Pass, Northern Province, Sri Lanka is an important military base and formerly the island's largest salt field, located in the gateway of Jaffna Peninsula. It has thus regularly been the site of battles during the civil war....

 to Vavuniya

Vavuniya

Vavuniya is a town in northern Sri Lanka. This town is situated in the Northern Province. Vavuniya was often referred to as the gateway to Vanni....

.

The operation was planned as a result of the evolving doctrine among the Indian high command of conducting search and destroy

Search and destroy

Search and Destroy, Seek and Destroy, or even simply S&D, refers to a military strategy that became a notorious component of the Vietnam War. The idea was to insert ground forces into hostile territory, search out the enemy, destroy them, and withdraw immediately afterward...

missions against LTTE strongholds instead of holding key strongpoints.