4TH LEAD
4 men, 1 woman killed, 3 SL troopers wounded in Jaffna attack
[TamilNet, Saturday, 24 December 2005, 15:12 GMT]
Dead bodies of four men and a woman have been brought to the Jaffna Hospital at 10:30 p.m., medical sources in Jaffna said. The bodies, yet to be identified, have been recovered near Jaffna Fort where a firefight between unidentified gunmen and Sri Lanka Army (SLA) soldiers was reported at 6.10 p.m. Saturday. Three SLA soldiers were njured in the firefight, one of them seriously. The trooper with serious injuries was air lifted to Palaly military hospital, sources said. Meanwhile Sri Lanka military sources in Colombo claimed that those killed in Jaffna were armed men who ambushed their troopers. Tension prevails in Jaffna.
SLA troops patroling the outer perimeter of Jaffna town that includes Jaffna Fort area, Thanthai Selva memorial, Public Library, Jaffna Courts were attacked by unidentified gunmen. The firefight lasted nearly 10 minutes. Bus stand was closed and civilians vacated the town area. Only SLA troopers were seen in the town. In two other incidents, one soldier was injured in a grenade attack in a sentry point in Irupalai, Jaffna around 4.30 p.m. and two SLA soldiers were injured in a grenade attack in Thanlankilappu Road in Thenmaradchy area at 5.30 p.m. Following the Irupalai attack, more than 30 traders in Irupalai were taken to the SLA camp for interrogation. They have not been released when this story was filed. The two soldiers injured in the Thanankilappu attack were also airlifted to Palaly Military Hospital.
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