Ambush wounds SLA soldier in Vilpattu border

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 05 March 2008, 09:04 GMT]
A Sri Lanka Army soldier was seriously wounded in a gunfire ambush attack near the crosspoint SLA detachment in Puththa'lam district at Ilavangku'lam, bordering Vilpattu wildlife sanctuary. The ambush comes after SLA claimed it had cleared the area from LTTE operations after bringing the Chilaavatturai area into its control.

Ilavangku'lam, the northernmost village of Puththa'lam district, bordering Vilapattu is a traditional Tamil village. The name means: 'the tank of Ilavam trees'.

A GS area in the Va'n'naaththivillu division, Ilavangku'lam was a focal point in 1971 during the JVP insurrection. A permanent army detachment was established as it became a JVP stronghold at the entry point to the Vilpattu sanctuary.