Two soldiers killed

COLOMBO: Two soldiers and a member of the STF were killed in two separate incidents in the East yesterday.

The soldiers were killed in a claymore blast in Welikanda, around 8.30 a.m. yesterday while the STF member was killed by a side charger set off by LTTE cadres.

The second incident occurred at around 8.45 a.m. at Thirukkovil, Military spokesman Brigadier Prasad Samarasinghe said.

In another incident, a civilian was killed in Jaffna around 8.15 a.m. yesterday. This occurred in front of the HNB (Hatton National Bank). LTTE pistol cadre member who arrived by motorcycle shot dead the victim on the spot. The victim was identified as Selvarasa Siridaas.

A claymore bomb exploded targeting a group a Road Clearing Team involved in daily routine search yesterday around 7.40 a.m. in Weli-Oya. No injuries were reported. A cordon and search team has found a hand grenade closeby, told the sources.

Several explosive items have been recovered by the Army in Jaffna yesterday around 12.45 p.m.