LTTE mine blast in Jaffna kills three Lankan soldiers

Colombo, June 21 (UNI) At least three Sri Lankan soldiers were killed and one seriously wounded when their military vehicle came under a powerful LTTE claymore mine attack in the Northern Jaffna peninsula this evening.

According to military sources, the LTTE cadres have exploded the claymore ''targeting an Army vehicle transporting food items at Chundikkulam in Jaffna at 1720 hrs this evening.'' They said the injured soldier has been admitted to the Palaly Military hospital.

Meanwhile, Sri Lanka's military spokesman Brig Prasad Samarasinghe said the troops have captured over 95 per cent of the LTTE-held areas in the Eastern Batticaloa district and was closing in on the last base of LTTE in the eastern Thoppigala jungles.

He said, ''43 LTTE cadres from the Thoppigala jungles have surrendered since April to the security forces who were in the process of capturing the LTTE Thoppigala base within the next few days.'' Brig Samarasinghe said 188 rebels have been killed during the operation to capture Thoppigala jungles since April adding that only nine soldiers had been killed so far in this operation.

UNI