Bus stolen to transport UAV?

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 30 March 1999, 20:49 GMT]
The Liberation Tigers took a bus from the Sri Lankan Army controlled village of Kunchikulam late last night close to the area where the UAV fell yesterday said sources in Vavuniya today.

The bus service was started recently to the village and interior junction of Iranai Illuppaikkulam from Vavuniya after the SLA took these areas in Operation Rana Gosa I.

The bus had set out from Vavuniya around 2.45 p.m. to the interior village of Navvi.

The driver Ramalingam Santhalingam and the conductor S.K Rajah had parked the bus at the army controlled interior hamlet of Kunchikulam for the night.

Around midnight some armed youth had come to the house where they were staying and had wanted to take the bus away with them.

They had taken the driver and the conductor through the army controlled areas and later released the two in a safe area.

The driver and the conductor trekked back and found their way to Vavuniya today.

Sources said that they were grilled by the military intelligence about the UAV that is suspected to have fallen close to the area from which the Tigers had taken the bus.

The UAV was the last one in the SLAF's service. The other UAV's have crashed.

There was speculation in Vavuniya today that the Liberation Tigers might have used the bus to transport the UAV which may have fallen into their hands when it developed mechanical problems yesterday.

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