Sampoor battle: toll mounts

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 29 August 2006, 08:18 GMT]
Sri Lankan military Tuesday continued its new offensive for the second day against the Tamil Tiger controlled region of Sampoor in the Trincomalee district. Around 50 Sri Lanka Army (SLA) soldiers had been killed and 108 wounded so far, LTTE officials claimed Tuesday afternoon. They said 12 LTTE fighters have been killed and 15 injured. But the military says it has killed 66 Tigers and lost 13 troops. A civilian, wounded on Monday, succumbed to injuries Tuesday. 21 fleeing IDP's have been killed during the past 30 hours in artillery and aerial bombardment, according to LTTE officials.

LTTE Trincomalee district Political Head, S. Elilan, when contacted by TamilNet Tuesday evening said the Sri Lankan forces were continuing their two-pronged offensive and resumed attacks Tuesday early morning after indiscriminate shelling Monday night.

A number civilians, who stayed at their houses, caring for animals and properties while their family members have fled, were Monday trying to leave the area. But, they were blocked as a bridge in Ilankathurai area was bombed by Sri Lanka Air Force (SLAF) Kfir jets. The fleeing civilians, many of them elderly people, had fled back to Paatalipuram where they were attacked again by Kfir jets and artilly shells, Elilan said.

LTTE medics were treating many wounded civilians.

Sri Lanka's military denied shelling civilian targets in the area.

"We hope there will be more than 90 LTTE cadres killed. On our side, there are 13 killed and 71 injured," an SLA spokesman told Reuters.