'General Musharraf came to power after an Army coup. After sometime India recognized him. Like that, in future India will have to recognize us.'
An entire platoon of troops and two tanks of the Sri Lankan army were also missing.
The claim came a day after the Tiger rebels blew up an army bus in Colombo, killing one soldier, and overran a naval base where they claimed 35 sailors died.
He claimed that the LTTE would welcome any initiative taken by the Indian government to solve the ethnic strife in his country.
Naval gunboats intercepted the Tiger boats leading to the battle, which lasted for six hours, it said.
Over 4,000 people have died since December 2005 in a new wave of fighting despite a truce which is in place since February 2002.
Defence sources said at least six soldiers were feared dead and 60 others wounded in the battle. However, there was no independent confirmation of the army casualties.
The Sri Lankan Air Force this evening destroyed an artillery gun position of the Tigers at Pooneryn, just south of the Jaffna peninsula.
The blast is supposed to have been triggered by an army unit.
The blast ripped through the crowded bus as passengers were getting off at a military check point just outside the town of Ampara, 350 km east of capital Colombo, police said.
"We urge the government that the issue of security of our leaders has to be beyond partisan political considerations," said Anand Sharma in Rajya Sabha.
Sri Lanka Broadcasting Corporation, quoting Navy chief Vice-Admiral Daya Sandagiri had reported that Prabhakaran and Pottu Amman were among the tsunami casualties.
According to observers, with pro-China Rajapaksa winning the election, the result will have a bearing on India's presence in the Indian Ocean region where Beijing is increasingly making inroads.
The disclosure came as police reported that five more bullet-riddled bodies were found in the north-central district of Anuradhapura on Tuesday, 3 days after 5 other bodies bearing bullet injuries were found near the capital.
The Madras high court has dismissed a public interest litigation seeking to direct police to register a first information report against Union Minister V Narayanasamy for his alleged remarks against slain Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam Chief Velupillai Prabhakaran and 'Naam Tamilar' party president Seeman.
India must recognise our freedom struggle: LTTE
The pitched battles follow two days of air raids by government troops triggered by the killing of 64 bus passengers in a suspected rebel landmine attack on Thursday in Anuradhapura.
Sri Lanka rules out Oslo, Norway as venue for truce talks with LTTE.
The Lankan president threatened serious action if the LTTE does not stop the killings.
Breaking a 28-year-long hiatus, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday embarked on an important visit to Sri Lanka with the message that India favoured a life of equality, justice, peace and dignity for Tamils in its "new journey" of peace and reconciliation.
Rejecting reports of fresh talks, the LTTE said it would resume talks only on the basis of their "Interim Self-Governing Authority" plan unveiled in October last year.
The delegation said it was suspending its role until the president and prime minister resolved their differences.
President Chandrika Kumaratunga has said the truce her prime minister signed with Tamil rebels is illegal, reports the BBC
Denying any involvement, Army Chief Shantha Kottegoda asked the Tigers to produce proof.
Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa has threatened to invoke provisions of POTA against the Union minister for his speech allegedly supporting the LTTE.
P V Bakthavatchalam will be part of the international panel of lawyers being constituted to defend Saddam Hussein.
Harin Peiris also said Kumaratunga would break up the island's embattled northeastern province.
The Karuna factor is 'one of the main obstacles' to a negotiated settlement between the Government and the LTTE at the peace talks scheduled in Geneva Saturday,
the Navy exchanged fire with a flotilla of Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam after the rebels attacked naval gunboats.
The committee asked the Tamil Nadu government to withdraw charges against Nedumaran, Suba Veerapandian (then spokesman of Marumalarchi Dravidsa Munnetra Kazhagam), Paavanan alias Pudukottai Paavanan, Thayappan and Shahul Hameed.
Expressing reservations about Norway's engagement with the Sri Lankan government, Modi said it was aimed at gaining control of a deep sea ports in Sri Lanka.
The defence ministry said the students carried the grenade, which exploded accidentally and caused their deaths.\n
The LTTE chief's parents were settled in Tiruchirapalli.
Washington also expressed sadness at children being affected by the conflict, especially the death of dozens of them as a result of bombings.
The LTTE said that the island's new president Mahindra Rajapakse had failed to grasp the fundamentals and basic concepts behind the decades-long war waged by the LTTE.\n\n
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