Special Forces personnel jointly with 224 Brigade personnel yesterday recovered 10 LTTEers' bodies and a massive cache of arms and weapons at Konketiyawa east of the Padaviya tank following the abortive attack on a police post on the Padaviya-Pulmudai road on Saturday evening.

According to Military spokesman Brigadier Udaya Nanayakkara, Civil Defence Forces personnel manning a checkpoint on the Pulmudai Padaviya road have noticed a group of LTTE terrorists in the guise of Army personnel and opened fire at them.

The terrorists had fled the area leaving a body of their companion in the face of heavy pressure exerted by the CDF personnel. Special Forces immediately cordoned off the area and launched a massive operation in pursuit of terrorists in the Konketiyawa area.

The troops have reportedly taken all steps to ensure that entrapped terrorists are not allowed to flee the area. An arms cache that included seven T 56 weapons, one Multi Purpose Machine Gun (MPMG), three MPMG links and 300 rounds of ammunition used for FNC weapons, high explosives and three Claymore mines was also recovered from the area following a search operation.

The SF troopers were immediately reinforced after clashes broke out between CDF personnel and the LTTE around 6.30 a.m, on Saturday and they seized an LTTE cadre’s body, a T-56 assault riffle and 3 belt orders by yesterday morning.

A civilian was also reported wounded due to the indiscriminate LTTE gunfire attack and later transferred to the Anuradhapura General Hospital.

Brigadier Udaya Nanayakkara said the LTTE group may have been given specific orders to infiltrate into liberated areas and attack military and civilian targets to deter Security Forces efforts to liberate Kilinochchi and Mullaitivu.