SLA suffers casualties in Mannaar clashes - LTTE

[TamilNet, Friday, 08 February 2008, 09:23 GMT]
At least 13 Sri Lanka Army soldiers were killed and 28 wounded in the last 3-days clashes in Mannaar district and the border areas of Vavuniyaa, according to LTTE's Operations Commands in the region. On Tuesday, 6 SLA soldiers were killed when the SLA launched a ground push, attempting to advance towards Adampan, Tigers said. At least 26 SLA soldiers were wounded in direct clashes that lasted for almost for 4 hours. Seven SLA soldiers were gunned down by Tiger snipers on Wednesday and Thursday in Paalaikkuzhi area. In the meantime, two covert operations by SLA infiltration teams were thwarted while they were engaged in placing Claymore bombs in Valaiyankaddu and Pa'ndivirichchaan areas.

Intense fighting raged from 9:30 a.m. till 1:30 p.m. on Tuesday when SLA launched a ground push, targeting Adampan.

On the same day, an SLA DPU team that had managed to penetrate into Valaiyankaddu area was detected and counter-attacked by an LTTE patrol at 9:15 a.m. The DPU team was lying ready to ambush, after placing Claymore bombs, narrowly managed to escape from the area, sustaining wounds. Three Claymore mines, remote control devices and batteries were recovered from the site, the Tigers said. The LTTE detected another DPU team in Pa'ndivirichchaan in the evening around 4:30. Following a clash, the DPU team withdrew towards SLA positions.

Tiger snipers gunned down four SLA soldiers in Paalaikkuzhi Wednesday between 8:00 and 9:30 a.m. One SLA soldier was wounded. Three more SLA soldiers were killed and another wounded in a similar sniper attack in Paalaikkuzhi on Thursday between 10:15 and 11:00 a.m.

SLA staged two intensive artillery attacks directed towards Mu'l'likku'lam , Mannar. The first attack beginning from 5.30 a.m. lasted an hour followed by another attack from 9:45 a.m. lasting till 11:00 a.m. The was no LTTE casualties in the artillery attacks.

On Thursday afternoon, another artillery barrage was staged by SLA at 2:50 p.m. targeting Paalamoaddai area.

An LTTE commander engaged in the defensive operations in Mannaar district, told reporters in Vanni that the SLA has been deploying artillery barrage aiming to inflict heavy casualties among the Tigers. However, Tigers have been successful in deploying counter measures in minimizing casualties, while inflicting casualties among the SLA soldiers, he said briefing media on the situation in Mannaar.

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