4TH LEAD (ADDED DETAILS)

Ambushes kill 2 policemen in Batticaloa, 7 wounded

[TamilNet, Saturday, 13 September 2008, 06:40 GMT]
An ambush team of the Liberation Tigers of Tamileelam (LTTE) attacked a sentry post at Thimilatheevu in Batticaloa district in the early hours of Saturday at 4:30 a.m., killing a Sri Lankan policeman at the post. Meanwhile, a Claymore attack on Ma'ndoor Vellaave'li Road targeted a truck, killing a policeman and causing serious injuries to four Sri Lankan policemen at 9:30 a.m., according to LTTE officials in the East. Sri Lankan police sources also confirmed that two of their policemen were killed in two separate attacks and said seven police personnel, including two female police, were wounded in the Claymore attack, according tot he Police sources.

The policeman killed in the Claymore attack was identified as 25-year-old Jeyasinghe. His body is kept at Ka'luvangchchikudi hospital.

The police personnel injured are Saman, 25, Sheldon Pathmakumar, 50, Jeyasekara, 40 Sama, 21, Thulasini, 22 and Anuratha, 20.

Tension prevails in Vellaavea'li area where the police and Special Task Force (STF) commandos are engaged in a cordon and search operation.

The policeman killed at the sentry post at Thimilatheevu was identified as 25-year-old Ratnayake.

The SLA and police jointly launched a cordon and search operation in Thimilatheevu and Cheaththukkudaa areas immediately after the ambush on police post.

Seven persons, arrested in the cordon and search following the killing of the policeman, have been taken to Sri Lanka Army (SLA) camp. They had come to Thimilatheevu to work, residents said.

All traffic between Paduvaankarai and Batticaloa was suspended during the search.