COLOMBO, Aug 19, Reuter: Eleven Tamil Separatist Guerrillas were killed and eight Indian soldiers listed missing in a battle in northern Sri Lanka, the Indian High Commission said on Friday.
A spokeswoman said three Indian soldiers and nine guerrillas were wounded in the action near Nettikulam in Vavuniya District on Thursday.
Fighting erupted when Indian Troops raided the hideout of about 60 guerrillas, she said.
Military sources said the troops were sweeping the jungles of Vayuniya and Mullaitivu Districts, part of an operation that started in May to flush out guerrillas fighting to set up and independent Tamil State.
The spokeswoman said that in Vavuniya Troops also raided a booby trapped camp. One soldier was killed and two wounded in a gun battle. Troops also stumbled on a third rebel hideout nearby, but it had been abandoned earlier.
The spokeswoman said an Indian policeman was killed and three civilians wounded in a clash with rebels on Thursday in the town of Nallur in Northern Jaffna District.
About 50,000 Indian Troops have been deployed in the North and East to hunt down and disarm guerrillas of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam which has rejected last year’s peace pact between India and Sri Lanka to end the rebellion.
Article extracted from this publication >> August 26, 1988
