2ND LEAD (UPDATE, PHOTOS)

60 SLA killed in 48 hours in Mannaar - LTTE

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 11 March 2008, 13:40 GMT]
Liberation Tigers of Tamileelam (LTTE) Operations Command in Mannaar told TamilNet Tuesday that 60 Sri Lanka Army (SLA) soldiers were killed on Sunday and Monday when the Tigers confronted 3 major attempts by the SLA to advance into LTTE territory in Mannaar. At Paalaikkuzhi, a large ground push launched by the SLA was thwarted by the Tigers on Monday in which 20 SLA soldiers were killed and 63 wounded. Simultaneously, the SLA has suffered heavy casualties on another push, at Parappaangka'ndal. Further, the LTTE claimed that its snipers have gunned down 18 SLA soldiers on Monday. On Sunday, 22 SLA soldiers were killed in the jungle area of Karampaikku'lam in Keerisuddaan.

Two T-56 type-2 assault rifles, two-thousand-five 7.62 mm rounds, forty magazines, three RPG shells, four bullet proof jackets, twelve hand grenades, six holsters, and eighteen water cans were among the items recovered in the first phase of the clearing mission, the Tigers said.

The LTTE has not released its own casualty figures.

The Tigers claimed to have seized guns and ammunition in one of the heaviest confrontations at Paalaikkuzhi in Mannaar on Monday. 20 SLA soldiers were killed and 63 wounded in the fighting that lasted from 4:00 a.m. till 3:00 p.m. The SLA withdrew leaving behind their dead bodies in no-go zone. The SLA recovered the dead bodies later in the night.

The Tigers confronted another push by the SLA at Kaaththaangku'lam in Parappaangka'ndal from 11:00 a.m. till 3:00 p.m., on Monday. The SLA has suffered heavy casualties and was forced to abandon the attempt, the Tigers said. Exact casualty figures were not known.

At the same time, 18 SLA soldiers were gunned down by LTTE snipers, according to the Operations Command of the Tigers in Mannaar.

On Sunday, 22 SLA soldiers were killed in a heavy fighting in a jungle area in Karampaikku'lam in Keerisuddaan. The fighting lasted till 7:00 p.m. from 10:30 a.m., the Tigers said.