At least 14 LTTE rebels were killed in a pre-dawn raid on a key guerrilla base in eastern Sri Lanka by an elite police commando unit, the Special Task Force (STF) sources said in Colombo on Monday.
“We recovered 14 bodies after we destroyed the base, an STF official said. There were no casualties among STF personnel in the overnight "search-and-destroy" operation in the jungles of Kanjikudichiaru in Ampara district,” he added. Other sources said that arms and ammunition, including T –56 rifles were recovered from the base after the operation. The operation comes amidst reports of a major LTTE build-up in the east and in the wake of a spurt in violent attacks by the rebels. The LTTE triggered a landmine explosion on the road towards Trincomalee late last month, killing 117 naval personnel, and on June 1, another 14 were killed in an LTTE ambush followed by a clearing operation by army reinforcements. A bomb went off in the Trincomalee district headquarters a week earlier, wounding three persons. Intelligence reports have been circulated in the three eastern districts of Trincomalee, Batticaloa and Ampara, warning police stations and army units about possible LTTE attacks. Bureau Report