2ND LEAD

Firefight near Neervely SLA camp, one soldier killed

[TamilNet, Sunday, 04 December 2005, 14:29 GMT]
A Sri Lanka Army (SLA) soldier seriously wounded when unknown gunmen attacked Neervely Jaffna SLA camp at 6.10 p.m. Sunday succumbed to his wounds, military sources in Colombo said. SLA soldiers returned fire and the firefight lasted more than five minutes, sources in Neerveli said. The SLA camp is located near the Kopay junction on Point-Pedro Jaffna A9 highway. Sri Lanka Army deployed soldiers along the coastal suburbs of Jaffna town, Ariyalai and Navanthurai, Jaffna police said adding that a curfew might be imposed in Jaffna.

SLA has blocked all vehicular traffic on A9 following the incident.

Meanwhile, security has been tightened in the south where funeral of the soldiers killed in Jaffna are to take place, according to military sources in Colombo.