SLA soldier, civilian killed in Claymore explosion in Batticaloa

[TamilNet, Friday, 08 September 2006, 21:27 GMT]
A Sri Lankan Army (SLA) soldier and a video shop owner were killed. A SLA trooper and 3 civilians were injured in a Claymore explosion that targeted a SLA road patrol in Chenkalady, 13 km northwest of Batticaloa Friday around 12:15 p.m., Police said.

The Claymore mine was fixed to a roadside wall, between the Chenkalady branch of the Bank of Ceylon and Sellam Cinemas.

The soldiers were from the Kommathurai SLA camp, police sources said.

One of SLA soldiers, Pompodi Kapilaratne Bandara, 29, succumbed to his injuries as he was being transferred to the Polonnaruwa Hospital. The other soldier, admitted to Polonnaruwa hospital was identified as M.Samantha, 28.

The civilian, the video shop owner, Sivalingam Santhirasegaran, 36, from Rameshpuram, Chenkalady, died at the Batticaloa Teaching hospital after being transferred from Eravur district hospital for further treatment.

The four civilians injured in the blast, Kumar Sinthujan, 14, from Chenkalady, Thilakaratnam Alagasunthary, 38, from Eravur, and M.Kandasamy, 67 from Rameshpuram, Chenkalady were admitted at the Batticaloa Teaching hospital, medical sources said.