Ten soldiers injured, security beefed up in Trincomalee

[TamilNet, Thursday, 14 July 2005, 04:52 GMT]
Security has been beefed up in the Trincomalee district following a grenade attack on a truck of the Sri Lanka Army (SLA) injuring ten soldiers including a Lieutenant Wednesday night around 8.30 p.m. at Palathoppur in Muttur division. The attack took place when the army truck was on its way distributing meals to soldiers located in the area, military sources said.

All the injured soldiers have been admitted in the Trincomalee General Hospital.

Since Tuesday about eleven police personnel and fourteen army soldiers have been injured in sporadic grenade attacks and firing by unidentified attackers, sources said.

The National Security Council was scheduled to meet Wednesday night to discuss and decide on further action into the current volatile situation in the Trincomalee district which has arisen following the killings of LTTE officials in Chelvanayakapuram last Sunday by unidentified gunmen and thereafter sporadic grenade attacks and firing on SLA soldiers manning checkpoints.

Mr.Rohan Abeyawardene, Deputy Inspector General of Police (DIG) for Eastern Region has asked the defence authorities to deploy more troops and policemen in the Trincomalee district.

The DIG said that the LTTE cadres are carrying out the attacks on the military personnel accusing the military of having links with the killers of their senior cadres at Chelvanayakapuram in Trincomalee last Sunday.

Meanwhile Colombo media sources reported quoting Army Commander Major General Shantha Kottegoda that government troops would hit back the attackers if they target them.