2nd lead

6 killed, 9 injured in Jaffna clashes - SLA

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 26 December 2006, 08:09 GMT]
Sri Lanka Army authorities in Jaffna said that 6 LTTE members were killed and 9 SLA soldiers were injured, two of them seriously, in clashes at Kakaithivu in Navanthurai, a suburb of Jaffna town, around 8:30 p.m, Monday.

SLA soldiers handed over the bodies of five youths to the Jaffna teaching hospital, around Tuesday noon, hospital sources said.

Later, the police handed over another body with gun shot injuries around 1 p.m. The police said the body was recovered at Aanaikoddai, a village close to Navanthurai, the hospital sources said.

According to the sources, two seriously injured SLA soldiers were admitted at the hospital Monday night. Four others were admitted at the hospital Tuesday morning.

The injured soldiers were later taken to Palaly military base hospital, the hospital sources said.

SLA soldiers cordoned off Kakaithivu till Tuesday noon and throughly searched the area. No one was allowed to enter or leave Kakaithivu, civilian sources said.

It is not known if any arrests were made, the sources said.

According to SLA officials in Jaffna, the clashes erupted when LTTE memebrs attempted to enter the coastal village of Kakaithivu, Monday night.

The LTTE has not commented on the incident.