2ND LEAD

6 civilians killed in SLA claymore attack - LTTE

[TamilNet, Monday, 02 June 2008, 18:09 GMT]
Six devotees including two children on their way to Naakathampiraan Temple in Maangku'lam were killed and 4 wounded, including 2 children, in a claymore mine explosion in Vanni Monday night. LTTE's Director of Peace Secretariat S. Puleedevan blamed the Deep Penetration Unit operated by the Sri Lanka Army for the attack on civilian target.

The attack took place at Puthoor, located between Kanakaraayanku'lam and Pu'liyangku'lam at 8:00 p.m., Mr. Puleedevan said.

The devotees were on their way from Mu'l'livaaykkaal in Mullaiththeevu to Naakathampiraan temple to attend the annual festival at the temple, Mr. Puleedevan told TamilNet, identifying the registration number of the civilian van as 8-SRI-6109.

The dead were identified as Vasanthakumar from Mu'l'livaaykkaal, Murugathaas from Ampalavan Pokka'nai, Thanusan (son of Murugathaas), Ganesh (Brother of Murugathaas), Ms Yogamalar, and Ganga (daughter of Yogamalar), officials of the NorthEast Secretariat on Human Rights (NESoHR).

Chithra 26, wife of Vasanthakumar, Sujithan (son of Vasanthakumar, 18 months old child), 9-year-old Janani (daughter of Murugathaas), and Vinojini were seriously injured and have been admitted to Mullaiththeevu hospital.