81 rebels killed as fighter jets target LTTE stronghold: army

T.V. Sriram
Colombo, Sept 27 (PTI) At least 81 L.T.T.E. cadres were killed as Sri Lankan armed forces using fighters and artilleries pounded Tigers' stronghold, with troops reported to be on the outskirts of the key Kilinochchi town.

The fighter jets targeted female 'Black Tigers'
training facility at Rathnapuram, Kilinochchi, as well as
L.T.T.E. logistic centres and vehicles storage areas in a
major escalation of the country's ongoing civil strife.

The Defence Ministry said that at least 81 Tamil
Tigers were killed as jets pounded ‘Black Tiger' training
facility in the embattled northern Lanka.

The rise in the heat of the battle comes amidst
reports that Sri Lankan forces are within sights of the town,
considered to be administrative and military headquarters of
the L.T.T.E.

"Sri Lankan Air Force fighter jets have launched a
precision air strike at the L.T.T.E.'s main female 'Black
Tiger' training facility located at Rathnapuram, Kilinochchi
this afternoon," an official said.

"The target was located 1.5 km East of the A-9 trunk
road and North of the Iranamadu Tank," Air Force spokesperson
Wing Commander Janaka Nanayakkara said, adding the target was
acquired on real-time ground information.

According to available information, serious damages
were caused to the facility as intense activity was reportedly
taking place during the time of the attack.

"The site is known to be the main female 'Black Tiger'
training and coordinating facility and a most frequented
location by L.T.T.E.'s intelligence wing chief, Pottu Amman,”
the Defence Ministry quoted military sources as saying.

In ground clashes, Lankan troops of the Task Force 1
operating on the western half of the Kilinochchi battlefront,
attacked L.T.T.E. defences in the Manniyakulam area, 12-km
northeast of Nachchikudha Friday afternoon, the official
said.

"Intercepted terror radio transmissions revealed that
14 L.T.T.E. cadres had been killed and 15 others wounded
during the incident," the Ministry said, adding troops
suffered no casualties.

While ten L.T.T.E. cadres were gunned down in
Akkarayankulam in Kilinochchi in various incidents, three
others were killed in Kallayamparauv and Pallavarayankaddu
area in the region Friday, the Media Centre for National
Security (M.C.N.S.) said.

In another incident, one Tamil Tiger was fatally shot
in Kallayanparauv while another was killed in Vennarikulam
Friday morning, it said.

At least 11 militants were shot dead by troops in
Vennarikulam area Friday, while five others were gunned
down in another confrontation in the same area later in the
day, the M.C.N.S.

As many as six Tamil Tiger rebels were killed during a
confrontation in Maniyankulam in Kilinochchi Friday, the
military said, adding seven others were gunned down in the
same area later in the day.

Continuing with their military operations, the
security forces killed five L.T.T.E. activists in Maniyankulam
in another encounter Friday, the M.C.N.S. said.

In north-east Welioya, troops killed 13 rebels in
various confrontations in Andankulam Friday, the military
said, In subsequent search operations, troops recovered 346
anti-personnel mines and 18 improvised explosive devices from
the area.

Separately, security forces killed three L.T.T.E.
rebels in Andankulam and two others in Ranabapura in Welioya
Friday, the M.C.N.S. said. PTI TVS