Colombo - A lone Tamil rebel killed one soldier in eastern Sri Lanka and injured two others in a shootout marking the first military casualties after the guerilla leadership was crushed six weeks ago, a military spokesman said Sunday. The incident took place in Kirankulam, Batticaloa, 300 kilometres east of the capital when soldiers attempted to ambush a rebel riding a canoe in a lagoon on Saturday.
The rebel grabbed the weapon of a soldier and opened fire killing one and injuring two others. In return fire the rebel was injured and arrested.
The government on May 18 declared that the rebel army had been wiped out and its leadership destroyed, but a few guerrillas still remain in the eastern province.
Some 11,000 rebels surrendered to government forces while about 270,000 civilians displaced in fighting are living in refugee camps in northern Sri Lanka, before being allowed to resettle in their villages.
