2ND LEAD

12 SLA soldiers missing in "Mankerni fighting" - SL Defense Ministry

[TamilNet, Saturday, 07 October 2006, 16:26 GMT]
Twelve soldiers of the Sri Lanka Army (SLA) have been reported missing in the fight with the LTTE in Mankerni area, private electronic media reported Saturday evening quoting defence ministry sources. The announcement comes after a Sri Lankan soldier, who was captured alive in LTTE controlled Panichchankerni in a Sri Lankan offensive towards LTTE controlled Vaharai.

The Sri Lankan defence ministry has brought this disappearance to the notice of the International Committee of Red Cross (ICRC), according to the news released Sunday evening in Sri Lankan electronic media.

"Further search operation has been launched to locate the missing soldiers," electronic media reports said quoting military sources.

Meanwhile, LTTE Trincomalee Political Head S. Elilan said Saturday that Colombo had refused to accept bodies of nine Sri Lankan soldiers killed in fighting inside LTTE controlled Panichchankerni.

More than 300 Sri Lankan troops, with paramilitary cadres, entered the LTTE controlled Panichchankerni, 10 km north of Mankerni.