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Two top LTTE leaders among 47 killed in Sri Lanka

IRNA - Islamic Republic News Agency

New Delhi, April 3, IRNA - Intensifying their offensive to push the Tamil Tigers out of their last stretch of land, the Sri Lankan troops on Friday killed at least 47 rebels, including two top commanders and captured a strategic area in Pudukudiyirippu.

Two top LTTE commanders, Gobith and Amuthab, who headed a special unit named after Prabhakaran's son "Charles Antony," were killed in fierce fighting in which troops wrested the village of Anandapuram, Indian official media reported quoting Lankan Defence Ministry sources.

The Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) had been putting up a stiff resistance to prevent the Army from taking over the village which was its last road link for bringing in supplies and logistics.

Police commanders attacked a group of Tigers in Sri Lanka's East killing 13 rebels.

The battle in the forests near eastern Ampara district was fiercely fought for hours.

Sources said that LTTE's explosive expert Paramanantha master was among the dead.

Sri Lanka has driven out the Tigers from the eastern province, but officials said that pockets of Tiger resistance still remained.

As the war between the government forces and the Tigers appears to be entering the last stages, more civilians trapped in the battle zone are coming over to the government-fixed IDP zones.

Some of the civilians, who sought refuge with the armed forces on Thursday confirmed the killings of the two LTTE commanders and said that "the junior and middle-level cadres of the rebels are planning to surrender or seek refuge with the armed forces as civilians," the ministry claimed.

"The two slain LTTE leaders were known to be the most battle-hardened fighters in the Charles Antony unit," the ministry said.

Military sources said troops entered the Anandapuram village on Thursday and "wiped out the terrorists in a close quarter fighting that lasted till the evening".

The soldiers have so far collected 31 bodies of slain LTTE cadres, along with 50 T-56 rifles, two rocket propelled grenade launchers, two multi-purpose machine guns among other war material, the military said.

In another incident a Special Task Force (STF) of the police attacked a group of LTTE infiltrators in the Panama area in South-east Sri Lanka this morning, officials said.

According to the defence sources, 13 bodies of LTTE cadres have been found during the subsequent search.

LTTE's explosive expert Paramanantha master is among the dead, they said.

Meanwhile, a search that followed a brief confrontation last morning at Visuamadu in Mullaittivu led to the discovery of bodies of three LTTE fighters killed in clashes, the Media Centre for National Security (MCNS) said.