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Sri Lankan Navy Fights Sea Battle With Tamil Rebels
Sri Lankan navy and separatist Tamil Tiger rebels fought a fierce sea battle off the northeast coast of the country, killing at least two rebels and wounding seven navy sailors on Monday, the Defense Ministry said in a statement.
The sea battle near the coast of Mullaitiva and Chalai took place early on Monday when five navy fast attack craft on patrol detected a cluster boats operated by the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) and approached to investigate.
The rebels opened fire on a navy patrol craft and the navy craft retaliated immediately, the statement said.
It said that monitored terrorist transmissions revealed that two rebels were killed while seven navy sailors were wounded in the battle.
One Dvora-class craft was crippled with engine failure and was towed to the northern port of Kankesanthurai while two other craft lost their night vision and radar respectively, the ministry said.
The air force provided assistance to the three damaged naval craft, the ministry aid.
The navy observed over a dozen plastic barrels floating around the area where the confrontation took place. It indicated that an LTTE logistic move was underway.
Government forces are observing their four-day New Year truce which began midnight on Friday and due to end early next Tuesday.
The LTTE rebels started their unilateral ceasefire on Christmas eve last year and they extended their truce monthly ever since then.
The rebels have been fighting against government forces since 1983 for a separatist Tamil homeland in the north and east of the country.
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