Tigers probe eastern police stations

[TamilNet, Friday, 15 May 1998, 23:59 GMT]
A series of attacks were mounted by the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) in the towns of Batticaloa, Kalmunai and Akkaripattu in the Batticaloa and Amparai districts last night, said sources in Batticaloa.

This is in keeping with a recent trend where areas in the east have been frequently targeted by the LTTE.

At Iruthayapuram, 2 km north of Batticaloa city centre, the LTTE fired mortar shells and opened fire with small arms at the Jayanthipuram police station at 9:55 p.m. last night.

Thiruthika (10), was injured when the police fired back and was admitted to hospital.

Police sources claimed there were no casualties on their side. The engagement lasted one hour.

In Navakudah, 3 km south of Batticaloa, the police station came under attack for about one hour last night, but no casualties were reported by the police.

In Kalmunai town, 38 km south of Batticaloa, five persons returning from prayers from a mosque were injured when an explosion destroyed a transformer around 8:00 p.m., said sources.

Following this there was a hartal in Kalmunai town this morning with all the Muslim shops in the town closed and the bus service suspended, said sources.

At Akkaraipattu, 50 km south of Batticaloa, a policeman and a civilian died, while four policemen were injured, when the LTTE attacked the Akkaraipattu police station, around 7:30 p.m., said sources in Akkaraipattu.

These incidents follow an attack at Kaludavalai, 15 km south of Batticaloa, on May 12, when almost 200 members of the LTTE captured supply lorries, despite the presence of the Special Task Force (STF) at Chettiyapalam and Kaluwanchikudy which are within three km of where the incident occurred.