COLOMBO: Security was tightened in sensitive areas in and around northern and eastern Sri Lanka on Sunday in the wake of the flare-up in north-western Talaimannar islet, the Army said.

"There is no fresh alert, but vigil is being maintained. Security has been beefed up in almost all threatened villages. The exact villages cannot be specified, but they are spread across northern, eastern and north-central Sri Lanka," Brig. Prasad Samarasinghe, the military spokesperson, told The Hindu.

The situation in Talaimannar — an islet 18 nautical miles from the Indian coast, which witnessed a sudden battle between Sri Lankan security forces and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) on Saturday — is "under control," the Army said.

"Clearing operations are now almost over," Brig. Samarasinghe said.

On Sunday three policemen were killed in a suspected LTTE Claymore attack targeting a water-tanker in the northern Vavuniya district, the Army said. The Army and the Police conducted "search and clear operations," in the affected area.

In another incident, a fire-fight broke out between the LTTE and the Government in the Weli-Oya region. The incident took place when a security forces patrol was attacked. "There were no deaths reported and casualties are being ascertained," Brig. Samarasinghe said.

The police and navy on Saturday also said a "major LTTE attack was averted" following the arrest of five Sea Tigers on a mission to lay "magnetic sea mines," targeting naval patrol vessels off the island-nation's western coast. Three bombs have been recovered from coastal villages on the outskirts of Colombo.

One bomb carrying a large quantity of explosive was another improvised explosive devise (IED) that could detonate under any weather condition. It was defused by the Bomb Disposal Team of the Air Force.

Police with the assistance of security forces, commenced a clearing operation in search of more `war-like' items believed to have been abandoned by LTTE terrorists in the area.

LTTE "to retaliate"

LTTE's political wing leader S.P. Tamilselvan said the LTTE would retaliate if aerial strikes continued. Last week the Sri Lankan military launched a combined attack on "specific targeted targets" in LTTE-held northern and eastern Sri Lanka. The "deterrent strikes" were ordered in the aftermath of a Claymore blast targeting a passenger bus in which 64 civilians were killed and 86 others injured. The Government and the LTTE blamed each other for the attack. The Government said "there was no iota of doubt" that the attack was by the LTTE, while the LTTE denied involvement.

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