International   

Six die in Sri Lanka violence

B. Muralidhar Reddy

COLOMBO: At least six persons, three Sri Lanka Navy sailors, two cadres of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) and a civilian were killed in violence in the north and east on Friday. In a statement, the navy said its ground troops attacked a group of LTTE cadres moving towards north at Kuchchiweli, north of Trincomalee in the morning. It was launched in the early hours when the naval troops intercepted a "terror movement" in the Peraru-Sempimalai area.

"Three Navy sailors were killed and another suffered serious injuries during the battle. The naval sources further said that the LTTE had also suffered heavy casualties. A search operation is being carried out in the area", it said.

Separately, the military said two LTTE cadres were killed when troops on a patrol launched an attack targeting a LTTE cab in the Madhu area ahead of the security forces' Mannar-Vavuniya forward defence line on Thursday. A senior LTTE leader, not yet identified by the military, is reported to be among the dead. TamilNet reported that a civilian was killed and two, including a Sri Lanka Army (SLA) trooper, were injured in an attack on Wednesday around 7:10 p.m. on an army sentry unit posted near a lake at Sithandy in Batticaloa district.

It said that the attack was launched from the LTTE-held area across the lake.

Printer friendly page  
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

Stories in this Section

Terrorist plot foiled, says Saudi Arabia
Ex-envoy to U.S. appointed China's Foreign Minister
Six die in Sri Lanka violence
Sarkozy under fire
Chinks in the armour in Iraq
Oil firms bow to Chavez demand
Stephen Hawking flies weightless aboard jet
Nepal polls
Kalam wraps up tour of Greece with a visit to the Acropolis
President pays homage to Indian soldiers

Copyright © 2007, The Hindu. Republication or redissemination of the contents of this screen are expressly prohibited without the written consent of The Hindu