7TH LEAD

Tigers locate 29 SLA bodies, 75 SLA killed, 100 wounded in Vanni

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 02 September 2008, 15:06 GMT]
The Liberation Tigers of Tamileelam, on Wednesday recovered further 10 dead bodies of the SLA soldiers, in addition to the 19 bodies handed over to the ICRC, from the battlefield after Tuesday's heavy fighting on two fronts in Vanni. 45 Sri Lanka Army (SLA) soldiers were killed and more than 51 wounded in Naachchikkudaa when Liberation Tigers of Tamileelam (LTTE) confronted the SLA in a stiff fighting throughout Monday night, and on Tuesday, 30 more SLA soldiers were killed and 50 wounded in another front, between Akkaraayan and Vannearikku'lam, where Tiger fighters fought against the SLA from 5:30 a.m. till 6:00 p.m., on Tuesday, LTTE officials in Vanni told TamilNet.

Dead bodies of SLA soldiers were still scattered around in the no-man zone between the front line of the SLA and the LTTE, according to the latest updates.

19 bodies, 12 from Vannearikku'lam and 7 from Naachchikkudaa, were handed over to the ICRC by the Tigers on Wednesday. Arrangements were under way to hand over the remaining 10 bodies, on Thursday, according to the LTTE officials.

Tiger officials further provided details of identification tags of four dead soldiers to the media with photographs from the battlefield. The tags were: S-353204, S-366377, 366401 and 65235.

Earlier, on Tuesday, LTTE officials told TamilNet that two PK-LMGs, three AK-LMGs, two RPGs, one shoulder fired LAW were among the arms, ammunition and accessories seized by the Tigers. However, sources close to LTTE on Wednesday said the Tigers had seized more weapons from the SLA.

The LTTE has not provided details of their casualties.

The fighting in Vanni has intensified as the Tigers, who avoided stiff confrontations against the advancing SLA for a while, stepped up defensive engagement on Monday.

The LTTE fighters, engaged in fortifying different defence lines in the area, confronted the SLA units that simultaneously attempted to advance from 8th, 9th and 10th Mile Posts, located between Vannearikku'lam and Akkaraayan.

Seven SLA bodies were earlier reported recovered in the clearing operation between Muzhangkaavil and Naachchikkudaa. Three SLA bodies, destroyed beyond identification, were buried in Naachchikkudaa. 10 more SLA bodies were recovered in Vannearikku'lam and brought to Ki'linochchi on Tuesday. 2 bodies were brought in later. 10 more bodies were brought from battlefield on Wednesday.

LTTE's NGO and U.N. Liaison Officer M. Pavarasan handed over the 19 dead bodies to the ICRC, which facilitates the process of handing over the mortal remains of combatants between the LTTE and the SLA.







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