4TH LEAD (added details and photos)

Two LTTE officials, two civilians killed in Trincomalee

[TamilNet, Sunday, 10 July 2005, 05:46 GMT]
A group of unidentified gunmen shot and killed two LTTE officials and two civilians inside a residence office at 3rd Mile Post in Selvanayagapuram, Trincomalee. At least 7 well armed men, in military uniform, lobbed two grenades into the building and fired at the LTTE officials and civilians inside the residence premises Sunday morning at 10.45 AM. The attack took place a few minutes after a group of Sri Lanka Army (SLA) sodiers, who visited the residence and talked to the LTTE officials, had left the scene, according to residents.



Mr. Dikkan, an LTTE official earlier attached to Sea Tigers, and Mr. Sinnavan (Kumaran Master) were the LTTE officials killed in the attack, sources said.

One of the civilians killed was identified as Mr Koneswaran Muthaiah. The other civilian is yet to be identified, sources added.

A neighbour, Mr. Selvakumar, 32, who was standing on the street 100 meters away from the residence, was shot in his legs by the attackers who were fleeing from the scene after the attack. Another civilian was also injured in the gunfire by the assailants.

The attackers were riding in a maroon color van with tinted glasses.

Tension prevailed in 3rd Mile Post as residents angered by the incident blocked SLA soldiers who were being deployed at the scene. Protestors demanded the removal of the soldiers from the premises of the farm. SLA soldiers were later withdrawan at the request by the Police.

Protesting youth destroyed the camera of a police officer who was taking photos of the protestors who had gathered at the spot.

A Sri Lanka Monitoring Mission (SLMM) official and Trincomalee acting magistrate, Mr. M K Selvarajah, visited the scene of the crime.

Selvanayagapuram, an SLA held coastal suburb, is located 4 km north of Trincomalee town.

The residence, which belongs to a farm run by the agricultural department, has been used by the political cadres of the Tigers since the signing of Cease Fire Agreement (CFA) in the February 2002, sources said.