This week saw one of the most ferocious battles since the security forces started their campaign to regain the Wanni around mid last year. The LTTE’s much anticipated counter strike was launched along their newly built trench line from the western coastal town Nachchikudah to the deep interior region Akkarayankulam, a fair distance of 18-20 km in length. This trench line, which is mainly an earth bund of around 7-15 feet at certain places, was built in recent times with heavy machinery cutting across shrub jungles. In a series of waves, the LTTE attacked personnel of the Army’s 58 and 57 Divisions last Wednesday in a battle that lasted 36 hours. The LTTE claimed to have killed up to 100 military personnel, while the military initially claimed that only nine soldiers were killed. However, with the LTTE claiming that they had recovered the bodies of 29 soldiers and posted pictures of the dead on pro-LTTE websites, the Army said that ...
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