Colombo (PTI): Maintaining the momentum of their offensive, Sri Lankan army captured more Tiger held areas, wresting the Pallai town in Jaffna peninsula, a day after officially banning the LTTE.

As the ground forces kept up their advance to capture the key Elephant Pass and towards the Tigers' military headquarters located at the coastal town of Mulaitivu, Air Force jets destroyed two sea Tiger boats near Kilinochchi, officials said.

"Troops of the 53rd and 55th Divisions, moved from Killali and Muhamale to capture the strategic Pallai town early this morning," a statement from the Army Headquarters said as the Tigers retreated to the Pass, which links Killinochchi with Jaffna.

The town earlier was a base for Tiger long range artillery guns as it commanded axis to both the Jaffna and Killinochchi battlefields.

The fresh advance by the military came as the Army chief Lt Gen Sarath Fonseka rubbished claims that the Tigers had made a tactical withdrawal.

Fonseka said that in the present offensive LTTE cadres and leadership had been confined to a forty square km area in Mulaitivu forest and his forces were advancing 2-3 kms everyday.

Meanwhile, warplanes targeted and destroyed two large Tiger boats in Chundikulam lagoon east of Paranthan, 4.5 km to the north of Kilinochchi along the A-9 highway this morning, the Air Force said.

Fighter jets struck a group of Tiger rebels fleeing battlefields in Pallai and Elephant Pass in the general area of Chunikulam lagoon, officials said.

Fighter jets later strafed a sea Tiger base and targetted boat movements observed around 7.30 am today, the defence sources said.

In ground clashes, troops, who gained total control over the LTTE forward defence line in Muhamalai last Tuesday have accelerated the offensive for capturing remaining vital LTTE bases on their mission to reopen the A-9 main road.

Sri Lankan troops captured Pallai town centre, located 5.5 kms south of Muhamalai in Jaffna peninsula, after moving southwards under heavy LTTE fire, the defence ministry quoted sources as saying.

As troops overran the LTTE's forward defence line (2nd line) on Tuesday, LTTE militants vacated their third line established in general area Pallai.

The military thrust supported by heavy artillery barrages and close air support missions forced the Tiger rebels to withdraw further southwards, military sources said.

Several key LTTE area command centers and administrative centers were overrun and brought under security forces control by last evening.

"Sierra Two (s-2), Echo 9 (E-9), G-7, G-2, G-0, "Solai" identified as transport base, "Bava" identified as garage, and Bravo 9 are the bases which have been entirely overrun by the troops", the ministry said.

A large cache of weapons and LTTE armaments hidden inside underground hideouts were also found by the troops, it said.

"Electronic Warfare sources said that heated arguments had been exchanged via LTTE communication channels as LTTE ground commanders asked for vehicles to get down their remaining military items in their rapid withdrawal", it said.

Meanwhile, a total of 140 civilians from "uncleared" areas sought protection with the security forces in Omanthai Entry Exit point area in Vavuniya yesterday, the defence ministry said.