International   

Prabakaran evades capture: Colombo

COLOMBO: The Sri Lankan military has claimed that LTTE chief Velupillai Prabakaran and intelligence wing head Pottu Amman on Wednesday evening escaped being caught by security forces engaged in combat with Tiger cadre in their remaining territory in Mullathivu district in the north.

The state-owned English paper Daily News quoted the General Officer Commanding the 58 Division, Shavendra Silva, as saying there were strong indications that Prabakaran and Pottu Amman were inside that terrain surrounded by the troops.

“They have hastily retreated from the area once they got the news that troops were going to surround that area,” Brigadier Silva told the paper and added that a “luxury house” that had been occupied by top-rung Tiger leaders was yet to be cleared by troops as it was heavily mined.

The paper said troops in Puthukudiyiruppu recovered a bullet proof limousine, confirmed to have been used by Prabakaran, close to a luxury air-conditioned bungalow inside the one sq. km. terrain surrounded by the security forces.

Military spokesman Udaya Nanayakkara said the car was recovered along with four more burnt cars close to the house. “Losing Tiger cadre, having lost all hopes for a last-minute salvation, have vandalised and set ablaze all the five cars, including the chauffeur-driven limousine, believed to have been used by top-rung Tiger leaders,” the Brigadier added.

Separately, the Defence Ministry said troops engaged in search and clear operations in the terrain had recovered 45 Tiger bodies.

It said earlier they had recovered 21 Tiger bodies and 60 T-56 weapons.

The Ministry further said troops captured a 130 mm artillary gun from the LTTE. “Troops engaged in mop up operations in the Anandapuram area seized the weapon that was being fired by the terrorists on direct mode at the advancing soldiers”.

Sri Lanka Navy said its elite Special Boat Squadron units in the north-eastern coastal waters intercepted 10 Tiger boats including three suicide crafts and seven attack crafts.

“The boats were launched from Puthumathalan coast in the ‘No-Fire Zone’. The boats attempted to make a southward-bound move when the SBS personnel intercepted them and directed naval gunfire completely destroying one enemy craft and disabling another. The remaining elite boats fled…landed in the No-Fire-Zone taking cover of the trapped innocent civilians,” said the Navy.

Printer friendly page  
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

Stories in this Section

Flogging video sparks massive protests
Prabakaran evades capture: Colombo
Violent protests mar NATO Summit
Hundreds attend Jade Goody’s funeral

Copyright © 2009, The Hindu. Republication or redissemination of the contents of this screen are expressly prohibited without the written consent of The Hindu