12 soldiers killed, 21 wounded in Tiger ambushes [TamilNet, May 18, 2001 07:51 GMT]

Twelve Sri Lanka Army soldiers were killed and 21 were wounded in two separate attacks by the Liberation Tigers Friday morning, said army sources in the northern town of Vavuniya. Earlier in a claymore mine blast on the Vavuniya-Mannar road, a SLA soldier was killed and another was wounded.

Seven soldiers were killed and 11 were wounded when the Liberation Tigers attacked an army vehicle with Rocket Propelled Grenade (RPG) at Sector 15 on the Mannar-Vavuniya road at 11.50 a.m., the sources said.

Five soldiers were killed and 4 others were wounded when Liberation Tigers ambushed an army patrol after setting off a powerful claymore mine, on the interior road from Mylankulam to Aaasikkulam, about 12 km. south-east of Vavuniya around 11.30 a.m., the sources said.

The wounded soldiers have been transported to military hospital in Anuradhapura, hospital sources in Vavuniya said.