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Huge LTTE base captured, says Colombo

Colombo: Sri Lankan soldiers captured a massive LTTE training base with underground bunkers, lecture halls and a cemetery as forces pushed ahead with their offensive against the rebels, said the military on Sunday.

Soldiers have broken through the LTTE’s defences in recent weeks and seized a series of key towns and bases. Officials said they hope to rout the LTTE by the end of the year and end the nation’s 25-year-old civil war.

On Saturday, soldiers took control of a rebel training base in Andankulam in the Welioya region after the LTTE fled the area, said military spokesman Brig. Udaya Nanayakkara. Soldiers uncovered about 100 underground bunkers, four lecture halls, water wells, toilet facilities and a cemetery, he said.

Fighting in Welioya killed eight LTTE cadre, while battles in Vavuniya killed nine others and two soldiers, said the military. Other frontline battles killed 10 LTTE cadre and five soldiers.

Meanwhile, Sri Lankan soldiers moved closer to the LTTE’s political capital of Kilinochchi. The Defence Ministry said 31 Tigers and nine soldiers were killed in clashes on Saturday. — Agencies.

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