|
11 Naval sailors, 30 Tamil rebels killed
 (KUNA) -- The Sri Lankan navy and Tamil rebels Saturday exchanged heavy fire off the country's north western coast leaving at least 11 sailors and 30 rebels dead. Six civilians were also killed and 44 others injured in two separate incidents in the same area following the clash at the sea, news agency Indo-Asian News Service reported.The battle broke out after the Sri Lankan navy Saturday morning engaged Tamil rebel boats at Mannar off the country's western coast, 320 km north of capital Colombo. At least eight of the rebel boats were destroyed in the attack. Soon after this incident unidentified people fired on and lobbed a hand grenade at a group of civilians who had taken shelter inside a church in Mannar, killing one civilian and injuring 44, the news agency reported. Unidentified gunmen shot five fishermen dead in the same area. The government forces and Tamil rebels blamed each other for the attack. In a separate incident close to Sri Lankan capital city two suspected Tamil rebels swallowed cyanide. One of them died while the other was shifted to hospital. Posted by: Fred 2006-06-19 |
| http://www.rantburg.com/poparticle.php?ID=156561 |