Lankan troops push into Tiger territory
Security forces pushed deeper into territory held by Tamil Tiger rebels in northern Sri Lanka and captured several strongholds of the guerrillas, the defence ministry said yesterday.
Government forces are engaged in a major offensive to capture the town of Kilinochchi, which has served as the political headquarters of the Tamil Tigers for over 10 years.
"Troops made further headway towards LTTE (Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam) hiding areas in the south and the south-western areas of the Kilinochchi district," the ministry said in a statement.
It gave no details of casualties and said the authorities had decided not release figures of those killed and wounded in the latest round of fighting.
"This is in consideration of the continuing advance of the security forces there (in Kilinochchi district) and the need for operational security, whereby such reportage (of casualties) may impede the successful accomplishment of the mission," the ministry said.
Government forces captured several bunkers from Tamil Tiger rebels as heavy fighting raged despite torrential monsoon rains in northern Sri Lanka, the defence ministry said Thursday.
Security forces battling to capture the rebels' political capital of Kilinochchi overcame resistance from the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) near the village of Akkarayankulam, the ministry said.
"The counter terrorist offensive continues with the military battling through stiff LTTE resistance and inter monsoon rains," the ministry said in a statement.
Earlier this week, the military reported that security forces lost 36 soldiers killed and another 48 wounded in the worst single loss for security forces in the past six months.
The ministry did not say how many Tigers had been killed in the latest fighting. The guerrillas also gave no details of the fighting.
Defence ministry maps show that troops are about 10 to 15 kilometres (six to 10 miles) southwest of Kilinochchi.
Tens of thousands of people have died on both sides since 1972, when the LTTE launched its campaign to carve out an independent state in the Sinhalese-majority island of 20 million people.
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