SLA patrol attacked in Vantharumoolai

[TamilNet, Thursday, 12 March 1998, 23:59 GMT]
3 Sri Lankan soldiers were wounded when the Liberation Tigers who came in a camouflaged tractor attacked a SLA patrol at Vantharumoolai this afternoon, around 3.30 p.m. The tractor had come in the direction of Kaluvankerni, a coastal village where the Sri Lankan Army is not present.

The Army fired at random for more than 30 minutes after the Liberation Tigers had withdrawn, and latter set fire to the tractor in which the attackers had come, said sources in Valaichenai.

All traffic on the Batticaloa-Valaichenai road were held up at Vantharumoolai for more than an hour owing to the incident.

Meanwhile the Liberation Tigers attacked a SLA sentry point in Valaichenai around 10.45 p.m. last night.

The SLA retaliated by opening up fire mortar fire and machine gun fire. A woman identified as Kunasuntharai of Peythalai was wounded in the SLA's retaliatory fire.