Experimental testing and numerical analysis often travel in tandem in a design process. Recent advances in novel numerical techniques to simulate mesh objective crack propagation offer a great potential for accurate and efficient damage analysis of composite laminates. This paper presents a numerical study on computational modeling of mesh independent matrix cracking and delamination in laminated composite plates subjected to out-of-plane loading. The analyses are performed with emphasis on a better understanding of the damage development and the interaction between different damage mechanisms. In particular, the effect of fibre orientation, the interface material properties and splitting cracks on damage development and overall response of the laminate are studied.