Soldier killed in firefight

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 17 November 1999, 10:23 GMT]
A soldiers was killed when members of the Liberation Tigers, travelling in a three-wheeler, fired at Sri Lanka Army (SLA) patrol, last night around 8.45 p.m. at Jamalia in the Uppuveli area, a suburb of Trincomalee, said security sources.

They said the passengers of the three-wheeler opened fire when soldiers on routine patrol had tried to stop it for checking.

The SLA unit returned fire. However, the attackers have fled from the scene, leaving the three-wheeler, the sources said.

SLA sources said they found blood stains in the three-wheeler and recovered some explosives. The three-wheeler is in the custody of the army, the sources said.

Meanwhile the Sri Lanka Navy (SLN) personnel conducted a search operation in Mandaithivu area, about three km off Jaffna town, from 12 noon till 6 p.m. yesterday residents said.

SLN sources say the operation was conducted after they after they received a tip-off that a group of Liberation Tigers had infiltrated the Mandaithivu area by sea.