Police commandos, Tigers exchange gunfire in Murunkan

[TamilNet, Sunday, 04 February 2007, 18:01 GMT]
Murunkan Police reported exchange of gunfire between a road patrol of Police commandos and a group of Liberation Tigers Sunday morning at 8:30 a.m. at Pannavedduvan, 32 km southeast of Mannar. Police said that a Tiger cadre was killed and that the Tigers had taken the body of their dead cadre, but clamied to have located a T-56 automatic rifle after the clash. Five hours later, at 3:00 a.m. Sri Lanka Army fired artillery shells towards LTTE controlled Arippu, 20 km northwest of Pannavedduvan.

Casualty details were not available.

More than 10 sectors of military trained Police commandos are stationed in the Pannavedduvan area located on Vavuniya Madawachchi Road.

Meanwhile, Sri Lanka Army cordoned off Vankalai area Sunday. The brigade commander of Thalladay SLA camp, addressed around 4000 Tamil Catholics who had gathered for Sunday mass at St. Anne's Church.

A grenade attack was reported Saturday evening around 10:00 p.m.

The army commander instructed the gathering at the church to inform activities of strangers in Vankalai area which comprises 3 Village Officer (Grama Sevakar) divisions of Nanaddan division.