Sri Lankan troops killed around 30 Tamil Tigers in a clash overnight in jungle in the islandÂ’s restive east, the military said on Wednesday, hours after the navy said it had killed around 40 insurgents in a sea battle. The military said soldiers had captured a rebel bunker line during the fight in a swathe of landlocked eastern jungle called Thoppigala, where Tiger fighters are still entrenched after the fall of their eastern stronghold. The clash came hours after the navy said late on Tuesday it had destroyed five Tiger vessels after being attacked by two dozen rebel boats off Sri LankaÂ’s far northern tip.
“We have destroyed three satellite camps (in Thoppigala) and are clearing the area. There are a lot of minefields,” said military spokesman Brigadier Prasad Samarasinghe. “One Tamil civilian in the area said there are 73 prisoners being held by the Tigers there, including one army corporal,” he added. “They cannot hold on to that area now because they don’t have any food.”
Samarasinghe estimated that around 150 Tiger fighters remained in the Thoppigala area. Tigers accused the navy of starting the sea battle. They said just two of their own fighters died in the confrontation. “According to our people, they managed to damage one of the Sri Lankan Navy Dvora (attack boats),” a Tiger source said. “The Sea Tigers lost two of their men and there is no damage to any of their boats reported. There is no information from the east yet.” There was no independent confirmation of what happened or of casualty tolls.
Meanwhile the government said that the military now has the capacity to shoot down Tamil Tiger light airplanes, which have bombed four targets on the island this year. The enhanced capability means the island’s only international airport will soon reopen for night flights after its closure earlier this year as a precaution over the attacks, a government spokesman said. “The night time curfew at the airport will end from July 1,” Keheliya Rambukwella told reporters.”
The air force has assured us that they received material to detect and identify Tiger planes,” he said. Military officials said the decision came after better radar was installed to track low-flying aircraft belonging to the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE). The airport shut for night flights in May. The air force has also received unspecified “material” to detect and eliminate the threat of the rebel planes, he said.