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Battle rages for Kilinochchi

COLOMBO: The Sri Lanka Air Force (SLAF) on Wednesday claimed they had launched a series of strikes on LTTE “strongholds” in the Kilinochchi town and its suburbs to support troops that had laid siege to the LTTE’s administrative hub.

Air Force spokesperson Janaka Nanayakkara said raids had been carried out on targets in the west and the north of Kilinochchi town and the Iranamadu areas.

The Defence Ministry said troops operating in the outer perimetres of the Ampakamam area had killed over a dozen retreating LTTE cadre. They recovered five bodies and military hardware.

The pro-LTTE TamilNet quoted the LTTE as saying 130 soldiers were killed in Kilinochchi on Tuesday.

“More than 300 soldiers were wounded in the heavy battle that raged throughout the day till 4 p.m. on five main localities and along a wide stretch of the frontiers in Kilinochchi,” it claimed.

It further claimed that in Kilaali, 40 soldiers had been killed and more than 120 had sustained injuries. “Thirty-six dead bodies of the SLA soldiers have been recovered so far, 28 in Kilinochchi and 8 in Kilaali,” it said. The Defence Ministry refuted the claims.

TamilNet also alleged that a five-month-old baby and a 25-year-old man were killed and 13 other refugees, including three children, wounded on Wednesday when jets bombed refugee settlements in Vaddakkachchi.

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