An army detachment located in south-eastern Sri Lanka has been attacked by Tamil rebels, a government spokesman said Monday. The director general of the government media centre, Lakshman Hulugalle, said Tamil rebels had used small arms to attack the army detachment in Thalgasmankada, 380 kilometres south-east of the capital on Monday evening. He said according to initial reports no serious damage had been caused. Military spokesman Brigadier Udaya Nanayakkara said reinforcements had been sent to reach the camp located deep inside the jungles on the border of a wildlife park. He said a wildlife department jeep carrying game rangers had been caught in the fire, but nobody had been injured. However Tamil rebels claimed that the detachment had been overrun, with six soldiers killed, weapons seized and the camp set on fire.
In a message posted on the pro-rebel Tamilnet website claimed the camp was under the control of the rebels for three hours and they removed six weapons and communication equipment in the raid. The area borders the eastern province where Tamil rebels still maintain pockets and carry out small-scale attacks on the security forces.
A private radio station reported that a group of rebels had arrived in boats from the south-eastern coast and launched an attack on the small military detachment set up to prevent rebels from infiltrating into the wildlife park. Tamil rebels last week warned that they would launch attacks shortly and that they were preparing for their next step.