Five SLN personnel killed

[TamilNet, Saturday, 04 December 1999, 03:42 GMT]
The Liberation Tigers overran a security detachment at Thuvarankadu, 3 km. north of Trincomalee town in the early hours of the morning today security sources said.

They said 5 Sri Lanka Navy (SLN) personnel were killed on the spot and 3 others wounded. Five police personnel were also wounded in the attack, the sources added.

The Liberation Tigers attacked the detachment with grenades and mortars the sources said. The detachment was housed in a school building, which was also destroyed.

Residents in Trincomalee said heavy fighting went on for more than one and a half hours, from 12.30 a.m.

Sources said the remaining security personnel at the detachment fled, leaving the dead.

The bodies of the dead navy personnel were recovered later in the morning by the security forces, sources said.

Wounded navy and police personnel have been admitted to the Trincomalee hospital, sources said.

Army and police reinforcements have been sent to the Thuvaranakadu area.

Sri Lanka Navy and Police took up duties at this detachment after SLA soldiers were withdrawn recently, and sent to strengthen Vavnuiya town following the Vanni debacle, sources said.

Meanwhile the Akkaraipattu police said they recovered a live bomb close to the Oluvil Telecom exchange. It was later destroyed by the army bomb disposal team.

Sources said unidentified youth had fired at the Telecom exchange around 10 p.m. yesterday. The police returned fire, they added. When additional police reinforcements arrived at the scene, attackers, suspected to be LTTE, left the place, security sources said.