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Tuesday's LTTE suicide attack on the oil tanker carrying fuel for the Jaffna peninsula will affect the entire civilian population within a short period, Jaffna District Secretary K. Shanmuganathan told the Daily News yesterday.

He said that the peninsula received its fuel supply from the Ceylon Petroleum Corporation two or three times a month and Tuesday's LTTE's suicide attack was launched on one of those fuel supplies, he added.

The civilian population in the peninsula is entirely dependent on this fuel supply for their transportation, lighting and other energy purposes as there is no other way of obtaining fuel.

Most of the civilians will have to be in the dark as they are totally dependent on kerosene oil to light their houses. Furthermore, the power to Jaffna is supplied by generators.

Mr. Shanmuganathan said that the population would have to undergo an acute shortage of fuel in two to three weeks if fresh stocks did not arrive.

Meanwhile, the Defence Ministry said the ill-fated oil tanker was towed to Kankasenthurai yesterday by the Navy after the fire was extinguished on Tuesday night.

The Security Forces believe that at least four Sea Tigers died in this attack as five LTTE boats took part in the mission. The bodies of the three sailors who went missing during the attack were also recovered and brought to the Palaly military hospital.

Nine persons who were rescued by Navy personnel are being treated at the Palaly hospital. Another person was brought down to the Colombo National Hospital for urgent treatment.

Troops in Nagarkovil and Kilaly in the Jaffna peninsula killed seven terrorists during limited operations carried out on Tuesday, the Ministry added. One soldier was also injured when terrorists fired mortars towards the Forward Defence Line in Nagarkovil.

A schoolboy, a retired Post Master and a woman in Shanthiveli in Batticaloa were abducted by LTTE terrorists on October 24 and 28 respectively. These civilians had been abducted while they were at their residences.

M. James Prabkaran an Assistant Bank Manager of Trincomalee road Batticaloa who was abducted by the LTTE on October 24 at Sittandy was released on October 26 after two days of detention by the LTTE terrorists. Sittandy Police and military authorities are making inquiries.

The LTTE pistol group in Mannar killed one youth and injured another when they were at their residence in Mannar town in the wee hours on Tuesday, the Ministry added. 

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