Colombo: Sri Lankan army today captured a strategic town in Tamil Tiger stronghold of Mullaitivu 18 years after it was seized by rebels, as the troops advanced towards the rebel headquarters in the island's embattled north.
Troops seized Kokavil town, about 20 km south of the rebel capital of Kilinochchi, the army said calling it a "long-awaited milestone" in the war. The LTTE has controlled the town since they overran a military camp there in 1990.
The capture is the latest sign of the government troops dominance in the civil war. Since withdrawing from a 2002 ceasefire with the rebels in January, the military has been carrying out a major offensive in the rebel-dominated north.
The Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) has admitted that they lost territory in the ongoing onslaught but their leader Velupillai Prabhakaran has vowed to fight on.
"Troops of Sri Lanka Army 57 division today reached a long-awaited milestone on their march into the LTTE dens in Wanni with the liberation of the Kokavil town in Mullaittivu," the Defence Ministry said.
Infantrymen of the 57 division first reached a location few kilometres north of Kokavil and then turned the thrust southwards destroying all remaining LTTE strongholds down to nearby Mankulam area, the military said.
