Sri Lankan police have arrested 117 people in the Jaffna and Kankesanthurai regions over the past week, reports the Jaffna based newspaper, the Uthayan.
The Sri Lankan Superintendent in Jaffna, Mohammed Jiffry said the arrests were part of a 'special operation'.
On Saturday, speaking at a media briefing, Jiffry drew attention to the recent armed attack of the Uthayan office and claimed that as weapons were only possessed by the state's security forces, the attack proves that "armed groups operating in Jaffna".
"We can only arrest if we get information on where they are located," he added.