Tamil Tigers and their supremo V Prabhakaran are facing imminent defeat at Kilinochchi as the Sri Lankan army is on the verge of overrunning Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam's defacto capital, former top LTTE commander Karuna Amman has said.In an interview to state owned Independent Television Network, Vinayagamoorthy Muralitharan alias Karuna Amman, once the second in command in the LTTE, said the rebel leader was about to be "punished for his insensate crimes".
Fresh from their success in capturing the entire North-western coast, the Sri Lankan Air Force fighter jets on Sunday pounded bunkers of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam and seized hundreds of arms and ammunitions while recovering the bodies of two militants, officials said.
Sri Lankan security forces on Saturday captured the strategic northern town of Pooneryn, the last Liberation Tigers of the Tamil Eelam bastion in the west coast, giving the forces a vital land link to Jaffna.
"Over 80 per cent of the war against the LTTE has been completed after regaining 80 per cent of the areas under them and killing over 12,000 of their cadres," Lieutenant General Fonseka said. Fonseka's remarks came on Monday as the troops reached about seven kilometres south of Kilali lagoon which separates the Jaffna peninsula from the mainland.
After smashing through main outer defences of the crucial city of Kilinochchi, Sri Lankan Army today captured Vannerikulam town and encircled Nachchikudha, the main sea Tiger base, after fierce fighting which left 33 soldiers dead. Apparently, stepping up their offensive to capture LTTE headquarters, government troops overnight and this Monday morning launched a fierce offensive to capture the Vannerikulam town for which the Tigers put up a stiff resistance.
Fierce clashes between Sri Lankan security forces and the LTTE militants in the rebel stronghold of Kilinochchi has left many Tamil tiger rebels dead as the army made further inroads into the island nation's embattled north, officials said on Saturday.
Seeking to address New Delhi's concerns over the worsening conflict in Sri Lanka and its impact on Tamil civilians, Colombo on Friday said it would send a high-level delegation to India to keep it abreast on the prevailing situation in the strife-torn island nation.
The Sri Lankan government on Thursday sought to assure India that its ongoing offensives on the Tamil Tiger stronghold of Kilinochchi was being carried out by following zero civilian casualty doctrine and all assistance was being provided to displaced Tamil civilians.
Sri Lankan security forces destroyed four Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam bunkers as they continued to lay siege to the crucial Kilinochchi town and 35 Tamil Tigers and six security personnel were killed in fierce clashes in the northern region, the army said on Monday.
Asserting that Lankan military operations in Tamil-dominated northern areas were aimed at liberating the region from 'fascist and dictatorial control of LTTE terrorists' Colombo asked India not to be influenced by the 'malicious propaganda' of Tiger sympathisers.
At least 35 LTTE cadres and a soldier were killed as fierce fighting continued to rage for control of the strategic northern areas of the country. Fire-fights have been erupting across the embattled area, officials said.
The Tigers' air strike on the military base in Vavuniya came as part of a brazen counter-attack by the rebels that led to heavy fighting on the ground in which 22 people, including 10 soldiers and equal number of guerrillas were killed. Sources said the two Indians, identified as Roop and Thakur, were carrying out maintenance and training of Sri Lankan personnel manning an Indian-supplied radar at the northern airbase.
At least 65 Tamil Tiger rebels and three soldiers were killed as Sri Lankan troops continued their offensive on the heartland of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam, claiming that they have captured major portions of the key Mallavi town in Kilinochchi.Security forces marched into the town after heavy overnight fighting, which spilled over to today morning as government troops cleared major portions of the small town.
Riding on vice-captain Yuvraj Singh's explosive 172, India on Friday defeated Lankan XI convincingly by 92 runs in a practice match in Colombo ahead of the five-match one-day series against the hosts.
A spirited India tilted the balance of the second cricket Test in their favour by taking an overall lead of 237 runs to push Sri Lanka on the backfoot at close on the third day in Galle on Saturday.
Eighty-two Tamil Tigers were killed by security forces in Sri Lanka's north, including 51 who died in an army raid on a key Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam base, as fighter jets pounded another area in the embattled region targeting a rebel gathering, officials said on Thursday. The rebel toll in Wednesday's attack on the LTTE-held Vidattaltivu town in Mannar, which was captured by security forces, reached 51, according to the military.
Sri Lanka on Thursday refuted allegations that India was compelling the government to end the military offensive against the Tamil Tigers, saying New Delhi only sought a peaceful solution to the decades-long problem.
A high-level Indian delegation led by National Security Adviser M K Narayanan arrived in Colombo on Friday for talks with Sri Lankan leaders amidst intense speculation on the nature of the visit, kept under wraps. The presence of Defence Secretary Vijay Singh in the delegation set tongues in political circles wagging in the backdrop of reports that with no let up in LTTE attacks Sri Lanka would like military assistance from India.
The bomber, who came on a motorbike, triggered the explosion in front of the office of Senior Superintendent of Police in the embattled Vavuniya town, officials said.
Three Sri Lankan sailors and four Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam cadres were killed in a pre-dawn attack by Tamil rebels on a navy outpost in Mannar on Wednesday.The Tigers claimed that the area was brought under their control for a few hours after they captured arms and military gadgets, including a radar equipment."According to the available information, four sea tigers, including their leader Sirimaran, have died in the battle," the Defence Ministry said.