2nd lead (update)
Soldier injured in grenade attack in Batticaloa north
[TamilNet, Saturday, 21 August 2004, 08:57 GMT]
A Sri Lanka army soldier was injured in a grenade attack in Mankerni, about 47 kilometres north of Batticaloa Saturday morning around 6.30 p.m. Police in the eastern town said. The soldier was riding a motorbike with another trooper when unidentified assailants lobbed a grenade at them. The second soldier was unhurt, Police said. Residents of the area, however, said that an army captain was also injured in the attack. He was identified as Captain Wijeratna of Sri Lanka army's 55-2 Brigade in Valaichenai. The trooper is private Tennekoon.
They were taken to hospital in Polannaruwa, 95 kilometres northwest of Batticaloa. The assailants escaped, they said. Mankerni residents said the assailants had openened fire on the soldiers when they lobbed the grenade. The SLA has a camp in Mankerni where there is an entry point between areas controlled by LTTE and Sri Lanka government. Mankerni is near Kayankerni where two LTTE cadres were shot dead by unidentified gunmen Friday.
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