Lankan navy clashes with Sea Tigers off Mannar

Colombo, June 17 (UNI) Sri Lankan navy today confronted with a flotilla of Sea Tiger boats at sea off Mannar early this morning and has reportedly destroyed five LTTE boats, military sources here said.

Quoting the initial reports a Ministry of Defence official said that a police post at Pesalai in the Mannar island came under a pre-dawn attack by group of LTTE cadres, who had come in a flotilla of eight fiber-glass boats.

''During the army, navy and air force joint operation at least five LTTE boats have been destroyed. Casualty details of the LTTE and the government security forces are not known immediately, but the situation is under control,'' a Defence Ministry official said.

There was no immediate reaction from the LTTE in this regard so far.

Meanwhile, two suspected LTTE cadres have swallowed cyanide capsules at Negombo in the outskirts of Colombo when the police on information attempted to arrest them.

According to the Defence Ministry official, three suspected LTTE cadres were found moving suspiciously with ''diving equipments'' at a coastal village in Negombo and two of them swallowed the deadly cyanide capsules while one was missing.

''A cordon and search operation is underway in and around Negombo area to apprehend the missing LTTE cadre, while the other two suspects have been rushed to the hospital,'' he said.

Air Force helicopters were seen hovering over Negombo and suburb area during the search operation.

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