Seven STF personnel, three civilians injured in LTTE attack

Rafik Jalaldeen

BATTICALOA: Seven STF personnel and three civilians were injured during a retaliatory attack when the LTTE opened fire using 120m and 81m mortars in Vavunathivu from the Thoppigala area. The Security Forces repulsed the mortar attack successfully, the Media Centre for National Security (MCNS) said.

According to the MCNS spokesman, LTTE cadres fired mortars towards the Security Forces’ detachments in Vavunathivu from the uncleared areas of Thoppigala. The LTTE is continuing sporadic attacks on the Security Forces’ detachment and residential areas following their defeat in Vakarai.

“The Security Forces retaliated the mortar attack successfully causing heavy damage to Tiger cadres,” the spokesman said.

Meanwhile an LTTE suicide boat together with a decomposed body of an LTTE cadre was recovered in a subsequent search conducted by the Security Forces in Vakarai, yesterday. The MCNS spokesman said the troops consolidating their positions in Vakarai were continuing search and clearing land mines and booby traps to resettle the civilians.

A fibre glass boat abandoned by the LTTE was recovered by the troops during the search operation. The suicide boat was embedded with three claymore mines by the fleeing Tigers, he added.

He said a decomposed LTTE cadre’s body and two hand grenades were recovered in the subsequent search operation.

“It is believed that the dead LTTE cadre was a suicide bomber”, he added.