Sea Tigers attack SLN patrol - VoT

[TamilNet, Friday, 19 February 1999, 16:46 GMT]
(CORRECTION) The Voice of Tigers (VoT) said in its 8.00 a.m. news broadcast today that the Leopard commandos of the Sea Tigers attacked a Sri Lanka Navy (SLN) Special Forces Unit patrolling the Jaffna lagoon off Kilaly on Friday morning at 12.30 a.m..

An Inshore Patrol Craft (IPC) was captured in the attack, said the broadcast.

A 12.7 mm 85 type automatic anti-aircraft gun, SM .50 Browning M12 Machine Gun 01, PKLMG -03, T56 -02, CIS 40 mm Grenade launcher -01, Radar 01, Communications set 01, Night Vision Glass 02 and other military equipment were also captured, said the VoT.

The radio said that the Leopard Commandos of the Sea Tigers had recovered a decomposed body of a SLN Commando and cremated it.

The VoT's night transmission was not clear last night as the army interrupted it.

The Tigers had attacked SLN positions on the Kilaly shore as well but, according to the radio, casualties and damages sustained by the Navy in this attack are not known.

The VoT said that the Leopard unit that carried out the attack and suffered no casualties.

The Sri Lankan forces involved in the engagement are thought to be members of the navy's Special Boat Squadron, which has been trained by the US Navy's SEALs.

Meanwhile, the Sri Lankan Security Forces Headquarters at Palaly in Jaffna issued a press note 10 minutes after the VoT broadcast that said, "Further to information on LTTE members' attack on the Naval detachment at Kilaly on February 18, one water jet which was damaged due to confrontation is to be sunk. Two naval radngs (ratings) were wounded and another is reported to be missing"

The Palaly SLA statement also said that two soldiers were injured when an anti-personnel mine blew up on them in Kokkuvil in Jaffna yesterday.

CORRECTION: It was reported earlier that the Tigers had sunk a Dvora Fast Attack Craft (FAC).