30 dead in clash in east

Cadres of the LTTE and the break away Karuna faction fought one of their biggest battles in the East yesterday, leaving at least 30 dead, according to army intelligence reports.

The two sides clashed in the Kudumbimalai area of the Thoppigala jungles yesterday morning after the Karuna group infiltrated and launched an attack on one of the LTTE camps in the area, the reports said.

The cadres killed were mostly LTTE members, the Army report said, but an LTTE spokesman claimed that only four Tiger cadres were injured.

A spokesman for the Karuna faction told The Sunday Times they had over-run three training camps including a camp for women cadres and seized 17 T-56, three RPGs, two grenade launchers and an unspecified number of small arms.

He said two of their cadres were also injured in the attack. LTTE military spokesman Rasiah Illanthiriyan confirmed the clash, but denied they had suffered heavy casualties.He said only four LTTE cadres were injured in the attack while they had managed to capture one of the Karuna faction cadres and recovered one body.

Meanwhile the LTTE yesterday claimed that the Air Force had bombed a water refinery project in the Verugal area constructed by UN agencies.

But the military denied the claim.