Saturday, June 17, 2006

Sri Lanka, Tigers both claim victory in maritime battle

Sri Lanka and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Nadu made conflicting claims of victory after a naval battle Saturday.

At least 40 people were dead or missing after Sri Lankan naval ships and Tiger patrol boats engaged each other in the waters off northeastern Mannar district.

Sri Lanka claimed to have sank eight Tiger patrol boats while sustaining damage to three of its own craft.

Sri Lankan soldiers secure village after the land mine blast in Kabithigollewa about 131 miles northeast of Colombo, June 15, 2006. (Anuruddha Lokuhapuarachchi/Reuters)
"Sri Lankan soldiers secure village after the land mine blast in Kabithigollewa northeast of Colombo, June 15, 2006. Anuruddha Lokuhapuarachchi/Reuters photo from Yahoo News.

The Tigers, however, denied losing any boats but instead claimed to have sank three Sri Lankan patrol craft.

There was no independent confirmation of either claim.

In a separate incident, three Tiger frogmen were captured just north of the capital Colombo. Two of the three fighters attempted suicide by taking cyanide pills and are were taken to a hospital.