Lankan General claims troops on verge of capturing Kilinochchi

Colombo, Oct 4 (PTI) Sri Lankan troops used fighter jets, helicopter gunships and heavy artillery as the battle for control of the key town of Kilinochchi intensified Saturday leaving a trail of 21 L.T.T.E. cadres and three soldiers dead, the defence ministry said Saturday.

As government troops piled up pressure by intense
bombardment, the Lankan Army chief Lt. Gen Sarath Fonseka
claimed that his forces were on the verge of capturing the
crucial headquarters of the Tamil Tigers.

MI-24 Helicopter gunships went into action pounding
L.T.T.E. bunkers on the city outskirts and an air force
spokesman said that the air-action was timed to support the
push of the ground forces into the town.

The control of Kilinochchi could be decisive in the
island nation's over three decades of civil strife.

Sri Lankan army has been on the offensive against the
tigers since January this year, wresting control of number of
towns held by the tigers. According to the ministry figure the
Tamil Tigers have lost more than 7,000 fighters in this period
with the military losses put at 700.

Fonseka, who was speaking at the Buddhist ceremony in
the central town of Anuradhapura, claimed that his forces had
advanced to within three kms of the town.

The Tigers have had virtual sway over Kilinochchi and
most of the areas in Tamil dominated Northern Sri Lanka for
more than four decades and in the town the L.T.T.E. has hosted
a number of visiting foreign dignitaries and peace brokers.