7TH LEAD (UPDATE)

Tiger Commandos attack paramilitary camps, 18 killed - LTTE

[TamilNet, Sunday, 30 April 2006, 03:08 GMT]
18 paramilitary operatives of Karuna group were killed in an attack launched by an Elite Commando unit of the Liberation Tigers on three paramilitary camps in Sri Lanka Army (SLA) controlled Kasankulam close to Thibulana, located 7 km east of Welikande in Batticaloa - Polannaruwa border Sunday. Arms were seized and ammunitions at the paramilitary camps in Kasankulam were fully destroyed by the LTTE commandos in the surprise attack that was planned and supervised by Special Commander Col. Bhanu, an LTTE official from Kokkaddicholai in Batticaloa district told TamilNet. 10 paramilitary cadres sustained serious wounds, 5 were captured by the Tigers. An abducted Vavuniya trader was saved.

The name of the Vavuniya trader was not available at the moment.



LTTE commandos seized two PK LMGs, one RPG, one 81 mm mortar, six AK LMGs, 16 automatic rifles, 2 handguns and one communication equipment, LTTE officials said.

One of the three camps was located near Kandakadu SLA camp and another near Kasankulam police station. The third one was located between the two other camps.

The attack was launched around 12:30 a.m., Sunday, and went on for more than an hour, within the area surrounded by Sri Lanka Army (SLA) camps.

Sri Lanka Army troops fired mortar shells on the attacking LTTE commandos.



Two vehicles used by the humanitarian workers abducted by the paramilitary cadres were spotted by the attacking commandos at the paramilitary camp, LTTE officials referred to initial reports from their commando unit. Seven staffers of Tamil Rehabilitation Organisation (TRO) were abducted by the paramilitaries at the end of January. The fate of the abducted humanitarian workers is not yet known.

9 persons were rushed to Welikande hospitlal, according to medical sources.

Arrangements were being made by the Sri Lanka Army to transport the wounded cadres to Colombo, medical sources in Polonnaruwa said.

The attack comes a few days after Australia's Special Broadcasting Service (SBS) Television’s Dateline program exposed the existence of Karuna group camps in Sri Lanka Army controlled area with video footage from the paramilitary camps.

Sri Lanka's Defence Secretary and the brother of the SL President, Gothabaya Rajapakse, had denied the existence of such camps in Sri Lanka Army controlled areas to the SBS journalist.