Death
Jayasinghe was killed in November 2008, during a reconnaissance mission in LTTE held territory. Leading an eight man Special Forces team, he had infiltrated thirty kilometers behind enemy lines into the Oddusudan area in LTTE enemy territory and conducted an attack. After completing the first attack, the team had been moving on to a second target when they were spotted by LTTE cadres. Jayasinghe was wounded in the ensuing confrontation, and his team withdrew to a safer location with their wounded team leader. They were spotted again by the LTTE, and in the second confrontation Jayasinghe was killed, while another member of the eight man team was wounded.
A rescue operation was later carried out to rescue the Special Forces team, with the assistance of Mi-24 helicopter gunships of the Sri Lanka Air Force. All seven members of the team were extracted, along with Jayasinghe's body. He was posthumously promoted to the rank of Lieutenant Colonel. His funeral was held in Ukwatta, his home town, on 1 December 2008 with full military honours. To confer blessings to the late Lt. Col. Jayasinghe, Georgia Buddhist Vihara, Atlanta USA conducted a religious ceremony on 5 December 2008. There was a mathaka wastra pooja, pirith chanting and alms giving.
Read more about this topic: Lalith Jayasinghe
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