Sri Lanka's Defence Ministry claimed that six attack boats, including two suicide craft, of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam were destroyed during a heavy sea battle erupted on Wednesday morning in seas south off Delft.
Over 52 militants of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam have been killed in gunbattles between security forces and the rebels in Sri Lanka's embattled north, where the Army captured a portion of the rebel-held Thampane area.
At least 22 Tamil Tigers and a soldier were killed in separate clashes in restive northern Sri Lanka as government troops captured a key base of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam hours after taking control of two defence lines in the region, the army said on Sunday.
Meanwhile, the Daily Mirror in a report quoting military intelligence said the LTTE chief may have suffered only a minor bruise in his right shoulder.
The LTTE triggered long-range artillery shelling at the Forward Defence Lines of the military at Muhamalai in the northern Jaffna peninsula.
A suspected woman Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam suicide bomber blew herself up in front of the office of a Sri Lankan minister and senior Tamil politician in Colombo on Wednesday, injuring three persons, a defence ministry official said.
The jets destroyed two camps of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam in Mullaitivu district
Eight security force personnel were also killed in various incidents in Sri Lanka's north-western Mannar district.
The Sri Lankan Navy on Wednesday claimed that it has killed at least 40 Tamil Tiger rebels when it confronted a flotilla of Sea Tiger boats in the seas off Vettilaikerni in the northern Jaffna peninsula.
The TRO's efforts worldwide have reportedly allowed the LTTE to use humanitarian aid, which it collected for the international community after the December 2004 tsunami, to launch new campaigns to strengthen the LTTE's military capacity.
A number of children were reported to be among the killed and at least 35 other civilians were injured.
The security forces captured and destroyed the four bases of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam in the jungles of Thoppigala in Batticaloa district during an offensive late Friday night and early Saturday.
Vowing to continue the liberation struggle despite the death of LTTE's political head S P Thamilselvan in an aerial raid, Tamil Tigers' elusive supremo V Prabhakaran has said Sri Lankan security forces "cruelly killed the peace dove" by targeting the outfit's senior leader.
The move follows the EU's decision to ban the LTTE as a terrorist organisation last month.
Polls opened at 7 am local time and would close at 5 pm with some 12,845 polling stations being set up throughout the country for 15.9 million voters, who will choose a successor to President Maithripala Sirisina.
Over 12 Tamil Tiger rebels were killed and three soldiers injured in separate gun battles triggered by the Liberation Tiger of Tamil Eelam's attempts to breach the de facto front line in northern Sri Lanka, the military said in Colombo on Wednesday.
Eight Tamil Tiger rebels and a soldier have been killed in a series of gun-battles in Sri Lanka's troubled northern region. While four Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam rebels were killed in a confrontation with security forces in Mannar, two Tigers died in Jaffna, the Defence Ministry said in a statement. Vavuniya region also witnessed a clash on Monday in which a solider lost his life.
The meeting also decided to intensify the vigil by naval warships deployed in the Indian Ocean, particularly using Airborne Early Warning aircraft.
"There is no point in beating around the bush. The government is ready to re-look at it," Defence Ministry Spokesman Keheliya Rambukwella said.
"The ceasefire should continue and both sides should come to the negotiating table to resolve the problem," the minister said.
Two aircraft carried out the attacks on oil storage facilities near Colombo.
The military said it was checking on the Tiger report.
The LTTE said their leader Velupillai Prabhakaran bestowed the title of 'Mamanithar,' or great man, on Tamil National Alliance parliamentarian Raviraj, 44, who was shot dead in Colombo on Friday.
The national capital, which will host the summit on April 3 and 4, will be dotted by crack commandos of Delhi Police and the paramilitary forces.
Human Rights Watch said that abductions of minors continued and children are continually being drafted as soldiers by both the Karuna faction and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam.
The Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam deployed aircraft for the first time in a combat mission.
A senior Sri Lankan defence ministry official said since intelligence reports have 'confirmed' that Prabhakaran sustained injuries on November 26, there could be an attempt by the Tiger leader to go to India for treatment if the medical facilities in Killinocchi or Mullaithivu were not sufficient to treat him.
"The air strikes were a sequel to the constant mortar attacks by the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam against the forward defence line of the Army," a statement from the ministry said.
The rebel Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam set off the mine, planted near an electricity transformer, targetting a bus taking constables home on leave, a ministry spokesman said.
"It is Tamils only who can be truly loyal to neighbouring India, and India should keep this in mind," the Tamil National Alliance Parliamentarian, M K Sivajilingam said.
Over the past four years, India has given around $281 million worth of credit, which have been used to import wheat, petroleum products and buses.
A man handed over a parcel to the bag counter of the store before entering, and a few minutes later, walked out without collecting it from the counter, sources said quoting shop assistants.
Rajiv, who was the sixth and youngest prime minister of India, was assassinated on May 21, 1991 at Sriperumbudur in Tamil Nadu during a poll campaign.
In a statement, the LTTE said it was "conveying the loss of S P Thamilselvam with profound sadness to the people of Tamil Elam, Tamil diaspora and the global community."
The successful air strike at Kilinochi will encourage the SLAF to re-double its efforts for a decapitation strike on Prabhakaran himself
The three men were blown up while rigging an explosive device in the northern Periyarkulam village in the district of Vavuniya.
During the 30-minute meeting between Samaraweera and Rice, the peace process in Sri Lanka and the current security situation came up for discussion.
Balasingham's casket was placed at the front of the north London's Alexandra Palace's Great Hall on Wednesday.
The Tigers accused the military of 'insensitivity' in carrying out the attack on the day of Balasingham's funeral.
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