One
soldier killed, eight injured in Jaffna attacks
By Chris Kamalendran
Sporadic attacks in Jaffna yesterday claimed the life of one soldier
and left eight injured in apparent retaliation for the killing of
two LTTE supporters involved in decorating the town for last Sunday’s
Maveerar day celebrations.
The soldier was killed when LTTE cadres opened fire at a truck carrying
dinner for troops in the Chavakachcheri area, military sources said.
They
said three soldiers were injured in a grenade attack while troops
launched a search operation in Meesalai to track down the gunmen.
The two attacks came hours after a grenade was flung at a group
of soldiers guarding the Jaffna Telecommunication office around
5.30 p.m. Five soldiers were injured in the attack.
Earlier
in the day grenades were thrown at soldiers in two different incidents,
the sources said.
In
Neerveli, the hometown of the two dead LTTE supporters, burning
tyres were placed on the road by residents in protest against the
killings.
The two LTTE supporters, identified as G. Krishnakumar (34) and
S. Sivaharan (26), were killed on Wednesday night by unidentified
gunmen.
On
Friday, four soldiers were injured in two grenade attacks on sentry
points in Chavakachcheri.
In
a separate incident, a civilian was injured following a clash with
the army.
The attacks came in the wake of Sri Lanka Monitoring Mission chief
Hagrup Haukland’s visit to Jaffna to review the security situation
and his meeting with LTTE political wing leader S.P. Thamilselvan.
Tension
in Muttur after incidents
Muttur was tense yesterday after a UNP organizer was seriously
injured in a shooting incident and two youths were hacked to death
in an apparent backlash where several vehicles were also attacked,
police said.UNP organizer M.H.H. Mohideen was shot by suspected
LTTE pistol gang members yesterday afternoon and has been admitted
to the Muttur hospital in a serious condition. The attackers fled
towards the LTTE-controlled Pallikudiiruppu, police said.
The UNP organizer campaigned during the Presidential election for
UNP candidate Ranil Wickremesinghe while he himself had been a candidate
at the last Parliamentary elections.
Mr.
Mohideen had also served as a member of the National Auxiliary Force.
Soon after the shooting, two Tamil civilians passing the village
were hacked to death while a police riot squad was rushed to the
area to bring the situation under control. |
