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Sri Lanka continues pre-emptive strikes

COLOMBO: At least six soldiers and eight LTTE cadres were killed in the north in the last 24 hours, said the Defence Ministry on Friday.

The Ministry said the soldiers died in an “accidental explosion” in Vavuniya. They were inspecting the mines recently unearthed from the Wanni Forward Defence Line (FDL). The military said soldiers continued their “pre-emptive strikes” ahead of the Wanni FDLs killing the LTTE cadres. The military refuted the LTTE charge on Thursday that the Army had fired artillery at a centre for the Internally Displaced People (IDP) in Mannar and complained that “false media reports” had claimed death of three civilians including a pregnant.

Separately, LTTE leader Velupillai Prabhakaran has compared the 21-member suicide squad that launched a pre-dawn attack on the Arnuradhapura air base on Monday with those who had fought against the Indian Peace Keeping Force from 1987 to 1990.

TamilNet quoted Mr. Prabhakaran as saying at a gathering to “commemorate” the operation that they would remain in his heart as guiding spirits providing willpower and moral strength in “steering the current struggle for liberation.”

The website said the whole operation was planned by Mr. Prabhakaran.

Meanwhile, the government on Friday cancelled the licence given to the Asia Broadcasting Ltd. on charges of “transmitting a false news item on a terrorist attack at a southern village.”

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