LTTE wreaks pre-dawn carnage in Jaffna town

JAFFNA: Six civilians including two children and a woman were killed when artillery shells fired by the LTTE during a sea battle with the Security Forces fell in the Jaffna town area in the wee hours of yesterday.

Twenty other civilians were injured including two children and a 63 year old Christian pastor. The civilians were fast asleep when the shells landed in Jaffna. According to military sources, 20 artillery shells fired by the LTTE from their bases in Pooneryn fell in Jaffna when the Army and Navy engaged a flotilla of Tiger boats sailing towards Chiraththivu Island, Mandathivu and Kolombuthurai in Jaffna.

Nine seriously injured civilians were to undergo surgery at the Jaffna Teaching Hospital. According to the sources, the artillery shells rained on the town in the wee hours of yesterday while the civilian population were asleep. Two dead children had severe burn injuries on their bodies, while the woman had her limbs severed in the LTTE artillery barrage. Both victims were asleep at the time.

The outer walls of St Joseph's Seminary, Father Mathew's Memorial Home, where the injured pastor was living, a Home for the Elders and a few shops too were damaged due to flying shrapnel from the artillery rounds.

Of the injured civilians in hospital, an elderly woman was in a critical condition. Another child who had received injuries to both hands was in a critical condition.

A Catholic priest also suffered burn injuries. According to the Military the terrorists lost four of their boats in the combined offensive by the Army and Navy. Eight Tiger terrorists were killed and many including LTTE's Operations Commander and his deputy were seriously injured as a result of the resistance mounted by the Forces. One soldier and two sailors had gone missing following the face to face clashes while a soldier was killed and two others injured in the confrontation.

Defence sources described the pre-dawn attack as a clear retaliation by the terrorists following the successful completion of the Jaffna Re-awakening Trade Fair and Carnival early this week. According to a media release from the Army Headquarters, several buildings and vehicles too were damaged in the firing in the Jaffna town.

Among these were two vans, two three wheelers, five motorbikes and two push cycles. In addition a large stock of household items including cassette recorders, radios, electrical appliances, furniture, cooking utensils etc, were completely damaged in the brutal attack.

"This is a clear attempt to drive a wedge between the people of Jaffna and the Army who had established a good rapport between them which terrorists' feel is detrimental to their interests," according to military sources.