Colombo: Sri Lankan fighter jets pounded LTTE targets as ground forces pressed ahead to capture the last Tamil Tiger bastion of Mullaittivu from the retreating rebels, which suffered at least 26 casualties, officials said
on Monday.
Lankan MI-24 helicopter gunships and fighter jets made precision air assaults at two identified Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) gathering points located in general area Iranamadu, in support of the advancing TF-3 and 57 Division troops on Monday morning, the military said.
Kilinochchi town, 330-km from the capital, was overrun by troops earlier this month and the rebels are now confined to the jungle and lagoon district around Mullaittivu on Sri Lanka's northeast coast.
According to Air Force spokesperson Wing Commander Janaka Nanayakkara, MI-24 helicopter gunships launched air assaults at an LTTE gathering point located 1 km Southeast of the Iranamadu tank at around 0815 hours (IST)
A separate air strike was launched by Lankan jets at an LTTE gathering point located 2 km North of the Iranamadu Tank near Kilinochchi on Monday morning, the air force said.
The army has won a string of major victories over the guerrillas in recent weeks, capturing their political capital and taking hold of LTTE's main base on the Jaffna peninsula.
The military said they were ready to inflict a "decisive blow" to the guerrillas after the capture of the strategic Elephant Pass causeway linking the Jaffna peninsula with the rest of the mainland.
The 57 Div troops engaged in clearing operations at Kilinochchi have uncovered 4 anti-personnel (AP) mines on Sunday, security source said.
Troops also destroyed an LTTE bunker overhead constructed in general area Iranamadu.
According to military reports, at least 19 LTTE cadres were killed and over a dozen injured during intermittent clashes reported between troops of the 58 Division and LTTE in separate locations, North of Vaddakkachchi and Velikkamdal in Mullaittivu and Iranamadu (near Kilinochchi) on Sunday.
Sri Lanka Army 58 Division advancing on the west-east axis along the A-35 (Paranthan - Mullaittivu) made a significant progress on Sunday.
Troops engaged remaining LTTE hideouts in the North of Murusamoddai and Vaddakachchi areas during the day, the defence ministry said.
Both LTTE fighters and the troops sustained damages in four different clashes in the south east of Mulliyawely area at Mullaittivu on Monday, the Media Centre for National Security (MCNS) said.
Meanwhile LTTE cadres suffered damages in seven different confrontations in the Puthukudurippu area in Mullaittivu on Sunday, it said, adding subsequently 2 bodies of LTTE cadres were found from the area.
As many as 2 T-56 weapons, 2 jungle kits and 3850 T-56 ammunitions were recovered from the area.
Separately, troops confronted the tiger rebels at Mudliyarkulam area in Mullaittivu and inflicted damages on Sunday, it said.
The Tamil Tiger rebels sustained damages during a clash in the Katkulam area of Mullaittivu on Sunday, the military said, adding one Tamil Tiger cadre body and a T-56 weapon were recovered from the area.
In 12 different confrontations in Periyamuruppukulam area, army inflicted
damages on the rebels near Mullaittivu, it said.
Reports of fighting have increased in recent months amid government's declaration to crush the group. The Tamil Tigers have been fighting since 1983 for an independent state for the minority ethnic Tamils, alleging marginalisation of the community for decades by governments dominated by the Sinhalese.
Over 70,000 people have been killed in the civil war in the Island nation.
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