SLA trooper killed in Vadmaradchi, woman injured in Kayts

[TamilNet, Saturday, 02 December 2006, 13:29 GMT]
Unidentified men triggered a claymore device hidden along the Udupiddy-Valvettithurai road Friday around 5:00 a.m killing a trooper of the Sri Lanka Army (SLA) unit returning to Valvettithurai SLA camp after constructing sentry posts near Ellankulam Heroes Resting Home, sources in Jaffna said. In a separate incident, a young Kayts woman was injured Friday by a stray bullet fired during the Sri Lanka Navy (SLN) combat training at the Kayts SLN base. She was rushed to Jaffna Teaching Hospital.

The body of the dead SLA trooper was taken to Palaly military hospital.

The SLA troopers opened fire on the attackers after the claymore attack, and there was an exchange of firing for nearly 5 minutes but no one was injured.

SLA soldiers conducted cordon and search around the attack area lasting nearly 3 hours, sources said. All traffic on the road stopped and searched. No one was arrested during the search, local residents said.

Following landing of LTTE cadres in Mandaitivu on 11 August and subsequent alleged preparations for war, SLN fears a large-scale attack by the LTTE on Jaffna Islets, and has been conducting combat rehearsals near the Kayts SLN camp the past two days, Kayts residents said.

Yogan Thiruvarudchelvi 31, of Camp Road in Kayts was injured during this exercise and is recovering in Jaffna Hospital with a bullet wound in her upper body, medical sources said.

Local residents are gripped with uncertainty and fear of war breaking out soon, sources said.