Jaffna islands LTTE leader killed

Rafik Jalaldeen

JAFFNA: Five LTTE cadres including a Tiger leader and his deputy were killed in Suruvil Vealani in the Kayts Islands by Naval troops on Sunday morning.

He had been functioning as leader of the Jaffna islands. The Navy also seized a large haul of arms and ammunition after repulsing a Tiger attack.

According to Commander D.P.K.Dassanayake Naval troops conducted a search operation following a tip off given by a civilian on Sunday around 10.30 a.m. in Suruvil, Kayts Island.

"The Naval troops were about to enter the Amman Puliyankadal Kovil premises with an inmate of the kovil in Suruvil acting on information received from a civilian," Navy spokesman Commander D.P.K.Dassanayake said. According to Commander Dassanayake when the Naval troops entered the Kovil premises along with the kovil inmate the LTTE cadres fired at the sailors.

"The Naval troops retaliated with small arms and heard two huge explosions from inside the Kovil," he added.

An inmate of the Kovil also was killed in the incident.

The troops searched the Amman Kovil following the confrontation and recovered five bodies of LTTE cadres and a haul of explosives and ammunition.

Commander Dassanayake said Eelamaran who was in charge of Jaffna Islands and his deputy Udayan were among the dead.

The Naval troops also for the first time recovered an Improvised Suicide Device of the LTTE.

The troops also recovered three T56 SMGs, a 9mm pistol, three 9mm pistol magazines, a pouch, two cyanide capsules and seven hand grenades.

Meanwhile, dead body of a journalist was recovered by the Security Forces on Sunday morning along Stanley road in Jaffna, the Media Centre for the National Security said.

According to a spokesman from the MCNS the troops recovered a dead body believed to be of a journalist shot dead by unidentified gunmen on Sunday at around 9.30 a.m. in Stanley road Jaffna.

Jaffna police are investigating.