Rail track blast injures PC, three others

Rafik Jalaldeen

COLOMBO: Three civilians and a police constable were injured when the LTTE exploded bombs fixed to the railway track in Vakeneri, Batticaloa last morning. The derailed train was damaged slightly in the incident.

Military spokesman Brigadier Prasad Samarasinghe said a group of LTTE cadres fired at troops on foot patrol in the early hours of yesterday. The Security Forces repulsed the attack forcing the terrorists to flee.

“We believe these LTTE cadres have come to launch an attack targeting the train but the Security Forces attacked them and a part of the fleeing terrorists fixed two bombs on the railway track”, the Brigadier said.

The passenger train was plying from Batticaloa to Polonnaruwa when the blast occurred at around 7.15 a.m. in Vakeneri. The first bomb was exploded between the train engine and compartment and the second bomb went off while the train was passing. “Due to the second bomb the train was derailed.The blast injured three civilians. The train was damaged slightly in the incident”, the Brigadier added.

According to Brigadier Samarasinghe at the same time a police constable walking along the track too suffered injuries from the explosion. Meanwhile, a solider was killed and another injured when the LTTE detonated a claymore mine targeting an army foot patrol yesterday at around 8.50 a.m. in Kidachurai, Vavuniya.

The Security Forces were engaged in clearing operations in the Vanni area during the last two months. Troops came under LTTE artillery and mortar attacks in Vavuniya FDL’s and West of Omanthai last Saturday.

He also denied some media reports that 150 soldiers were killed in Vavuniya during the fierce fighting that erupted between the Security Forces and the LTTE last Saturday. “The Security Forces successfully repulsed the LTTE artillery and mortar attacks killing over 60 LTTE cadres and injuring many others. Following the incident arms caches were also recovered by the Security Forces”, he added.