Security forces capture key rebel camp in Sri Lanka 's volatile east, military says
Associated Press, Mon January 8, 2007 08:16 EST . COLOMBO, Sri Lanka (AP) _ Sri Lanka's elite police force on Monday seized a key Tamil Tiger rebel base in the country's east, a region where a clash with separatists the previous day left at least one soldier dead, the military said.
Brig. Prasad Samarasinghe told reporters that the rebels' ``Stanley Base'' in eastern Ampara district fell to Special Task Force personnel, who also recovered a large quantity of arms and ammunition.
Special Task Force chief Nimal Lewke said that four of his personnel were wounded in the fighting and a search was being conducted to flush out rebel fighters who he said had escaped into the jungles.
Eastern Sri Lanka has become a hotbed of violence between the military and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam, which has been fighting for over 20 years for a separate homeland for Sri Lanka's 3.1 million ethnic Tamil minority who have suffered decades of discrimination by the majority-Sinhalese.
Lewke said the vast base was used by the guerrillas to launch attacks on government forces in the region, as a training camp for new Tiger recruits and also included a hospital.
The weapons left behind by the rebels included four mortar launchers, he said.
Rebel spokesman Rasiah Ilanthirayan confirmed a battle in the area but denied that their base had fallen.
``They (STF) have been trying to infiltrate our area and there was also a confrontation. But I deny that the camp has been captured,'' he said by telephone from the rebel stronghold of Kilinochchi.
In the nearby Batticaloa district, a clash between security forces and rebels late Sunday killed one soldier and left another wounded, Samarasinghe said. He had no details about rebel casualties, and the Tigers were not immediately available for comment. The two sides routinely inflate each other's casualty counts and independent verification was not possible.
Separately, the Defense Ministry said rebels infiltrated an electrical facility early Monday on the outskirts of Colombo and blew up a transformer, disrupting electricity to some areas.
``They (rebels) cut the wire mesh and may have used at least 1 kilogram (2.2 pounds) of explosive to blow up the transformer,'' Maj. Upali Rajapakse said.
``The security forces believe that the Tiger terrorists are attempting to disrupt normalcy in non-operational areas,'' Rajapakse said.
Rebel spokesman, Ilanthirayan, denied involvement.
The Elakanda power station is about 10 kilometers (6.21 miles) north of Colombo.
Also on Monday in northern Jaffna peninsula, masked men stopped a state-owned bus transporting school children, then forced the students off before setting it on fire, a bus employee said.
The group, shouting anti-government slogans, claimed that a pro-government Tamil party was abducting students in Jaffna, employee N. Rasadurai said.
The military said that some students themselves were involved in the arson attack, which was instigated by the rebels.
Sri Lankan Military: Rebels blow up transformer at electrical facility
Associated Press, Mon January 8, 2007 02:23 EST . - - COLOMBO, Sri Lanka - (AP) The Sri Lankan Defense Ministry said Tamil rebels infiltrated an electrical facility early Monday on the outskirts of Colombo and blew up a transformer, disrupting electricity to some areas.
``They (rebels) cut the wire mesh and may have used at least 1 kilogram (2.2 pounds) of explosive to blow up the transformer,'' Acting military spokesman, Maj. Upali Rajapakse said.
The Elkanda power station is about 10 kilometers (6.21 miles) north of Colombo.
Sri Lanka beefs up security after bus bombings
Colombo, Jan 08: Sri Lanka on Monday stepped up security on public transport across the country after two weekend bomb attacks killed 21 passengers and wounded about 120, police said.
Passengers were forced to line up for security checks before boarding buses and trains that bring in about 70 per cent of the one million people who enter the capital daily for work, police said.
"We are having police and security forces at main bus terminals as well as volunteer groups who help with the checking," a police spokesman said.
President Mahinda Rajapakse yesterday accused Tamil Tiger rebels of stoking an ethnic backlash by majority Sinhalese on the minority Tamil community with the attacks on innocent civilians using public transport.
"The aim of the LTTE (Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam) is to have a backlash against the Tamils and to undermine our efforts to find a peaceful solution," Rajapakse said in a statement released by his office yesterday.
An LTTE defence spokesman, Rasiah Ilanthirayan, denied any responsibility for the blasts which occurred on a road widely used by tourists to reach southern beach resorts.
The bus bombings came as security forces stepped up an aerial bombing campaign against the tigers in the rebel-held northeast of the island, and the guerrillas accused the military of hitting civilians.
The government information department said 15 people were killed and 47 wounded on Saturday in the second bus bombing near Ambalangoda, 85 kilometres south of Colombo.
The attack followed a bus blast late Friday when six passengers were killed and another 70 were wounded near Colombo.
Associated Press, Mon January 8, 2007 08:16 EST . COLOMBO, Sri Lanka (AP) _ Sri Lanka's elite police force on Monday seized a key Tamil Tiger rebel base in the country's east, a region where a clash with separatists the previous day left at least one soldier dead, the military said.
Brig. Prasad Samarasinghe told reporters that the rebels' ``Stanley Base'' in eastern Ampara district fell to Special Task Force personnel, who also recovered a large quantity of arms and ammunition.
Special Task Force chief Nimal Lewke said that four of his personnel were wounded in the fighting and a search was being conducted to flush out rebel fighters who he said had escaped into the jungles.
Eastern Sri Lanka has become a hotbed of violence between the military and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam, which has been fighting for over 20 years for a separate homeland for Sri Lanka's 3.1 million ethnic Tamil minority who have suffered decades of discrimination by the majority-Sinhalese.
Lewke said the vast base was used by the guerrillas to launch attacks on government forces in the region, as a training camp for new Tiger recruits and also included a hospital.
The weapons left behind by the rebels included four mortar launchers, he said.
Rebel spokesman Rasiah Ilanthirayan confirmed a battle in the area but denied that their base had fallen.
``They (STF) have been trying to infiltrate our area and there was also a confrontation. But I deny that the camp has been captured,'' he said by telephone from the rebel stronghold of Kilinochchi.
In the nearby Batticaloa district, a clash between security forces and rebels late Sunday killed one soldier and left another wounded, Samarasinghe said. He had no details about rebel casualties, and the Tigers were not immediately available for comment. The two sides routinely inflate each other's casualty counts and independent verification was not possible.
Separately, the Defense Ministry said rebels infiltrated an electrical facility early Monday on the outskirts of Colombo and blew up a transformer, disrupting electricity to some areas.
``They (rebels) cut the wire mesh and may have used at least 1 kilogram (2.2 pounds) of explosive to blow up the transformer,'' Maj. Upali Rajapakse said.
``The security forces believe that the Tiger terrorists are attempting to disrupt normalcy in non-operational areas,'' Rajapakse said.
Rebel spokesman, Ilanthirayan, denied involvement.
The Elakanda power station is about 10 kilometers (6.21 miles) north of Colombo.
Also on Monday in northern Jaffna peninsula, masked men stopped a state-owned bus transporting school children, then forced the students off before setting it on fire, a bus employee said.
The group, shouting anti-government slogans, claimed that a pro-government Tamil party was abducting students in Jaffna, employee N. Rasadurai said.
The military said that some students themselves were involved in the arson attack, which was instigated by the rebels.
Sri Lankan Military: Rebels blow up transformer at electrical facility
Associated Press, Mon January 8, 2007 02:23 EST . - - COLOMBO, Sri Lanka - (AP) The Sri Lankan Defense Ministry said Tamil rebels infiltrated an electrical facility early Monday on the outskirts of Colombo and blew up a transformer, disrupting electricity to some areas.
``They (rebels) cut the wire mesh and may have used at least 1 kilogram (2.2 pounds) of explosive to blow up the transformer,'' Acting military spokesman, Maj. Upali Rajapakse said.
The Elkanda power station is about 10 kilometers (6.21 miles) north of Colombo.
Sri Lanka beefs up security after bus bombings
Colombo, Jan 08: Sri Lanka on Monday stepped up security on public transport across the country after two weekend bomb attacks killed 21 passengers and wounded about 120, police said.
Passengers were forced to line up for security checks before boarding buses and trains that bring in about 70 per cent of the one million people who enter the capital daily for work, police said.
"We are having police and security forces at main bus terminals as well as volunteer groups who help with the checking," a police spokesman said.
President Mahinda Rajapakse yesterday accused Tamil Tiger rebels of stoking an ethnic backlash by majority Sinhalese on the minority Tamil community with the attacks on innocent civilians using public transport.
"The aim of the LTTE (Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam) is to have a backlash against the Tamils and to undermine our efforts to find a peaceful solution," Rajapakse said in a statement released by his office yesterday.
An LTTE defence spokesman, Rasiah Ilanthirayan, denied any responsibility for the blasts which occurred on a road widely used by tourists to reach southern beach resorts.
The bus bombings came as security forces stepped up an aerial bombing campaign against the tigers in the rebel-held northeast of the island, and the guerrillas accused the military of hitting civilians.
The government information department said 15 people were killed and 47 wounded on Saturday in the second bus bombing near Ambalangoda, 85 kilometres south of Colombo.
The attack followed a bus blast late Friday when six passengers were killed and another 70 were wounded near Colombo.
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