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Heavy losses for LTTE: Army

COLOMBO: The Sri Lankan military on Sunday claimed at least 36 LTTE cadre were killed and dozen injured in heavy fighting between the forces and the Tigers as the “counter-terrorist operations entered its last phases” in Mullathivu.

The Defence Ministry said troops had located an LTTE administration and logistic base in Puthukkudiyirippu.

After heavy fighting in the area, troops found bodies with weapons on them. The Ministry said six LTTE cadres were sniped east of Ampalavanpokkanai and five others met with a similar fate in Udayarkkatu.

Separately, the LTTE alleged the new safety zone consisting of Maththalan, Pokkanai, and Mullivaikal areas were “a zone of killing” for the internally-displaced persons even without Army shelling. “ICRC [International Committee of the Red Cross] that came today [Sunday] to pick up a further ship load of civilians injured in SLA shelling were categorically informed of the unsuitability of the site for dense IDP settlement,” it said. Meanwhile, the military said the death toll in Saturday’s killing of villagers by suspected LTTE cadre at Karametiya in Amparai district had risen to 21.

It said over 20 others, including children, had sustained serious injuries. LTTE denied the military charges.

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