By Shamindra Ferdinando
Army Chief Lt. General Sarath Fonseka yesterday said that troops on the Vanni front overran an LTTE airstrip north of Vannivilankulam about seven kilometers north-west of Mankulam.
He told The Island the advance was made on Monday as the LTTE retreated before 57 Division. Situated about 500 metres west of the A9 road, the airstrip was 500 metres long and about 50 metres wide. The troops were making steady progress on the multiple Vanni fronts, he said.
SLAF spokesman Wing Commander Janaka Nanayakkara told The Island that this particular airstrip had been bombed a few times but not recently. The SLAF is primarily focussing on LTTE facilities on the eastern part of the Vanni although quite a number of targets had been taken west of the A9 in support of the 57 Division and Task Force I and Task Force II.
The Army Chief said that his troops were operating in the Kokkuvil area and were in the process of consolidating their positions.
He said that the 59 Division on the Weli Oya front, too, was advancing on the enemy territory causing heavy losses to the LTTE he said.
Meanwhile the elite Special Boat Squadron (SBS) on Monday night destroyed two Sea Tiger craft in the seas off Kalmunai point, Pooneryn. The Navy said that its small fast attack craft had zeroed-in on the enemy killing eight LTTE cadres. The Navy had not suffered losses.
At Kaluwanchikudy also on Monday police commandos had confronted a group of LTTE cadres who came ashore on a small boat. Police spokesman SSP Ranjith Gunasekera told The Island that troops had recovered two bodies of LTTE cadres along with one T56 assault rifle, four T56 magazines, one claymore mine concealed in an empty coconut shell, one suicide kit, two detonators, two hand grenades and a few other items.
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