Helicopters hit Tiger islet as Sri Lanka steps up offensive
Posted: 08 November 2008 1508 hrs

	Photos  of
	Related News • Sri Lanka to unveil biggest ever war budget • Sri Lankan army chief says war nearly complete • Sea battle claims heavy casualties in Sri Lanka

COLOMBO: Helicopter gunships launched a rare night assault against a suspected Tamil Tiger base located on a small islet off Sri Lanka's Jaffna peninsula, the defence ministry said on Saturday.

The air force Mi-24 gunships attacked a "gathering point" of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) at Palaitivu, just on the southwestern side of the Jaffna peninsula on Friday night, the ministry said.

There was no immediate details of casualties. There was also no comment from the Tigers.

The attack came as ground troops stepped up an offensive against the rebels in the northern mainland in a bid to capture the Tiger political capital of Kilinochchi, 330 kilometres north of Colombo.

"Troops are forcing the LTTE to flee in total disarray as the military surge continues with strong determination," the ministry said.

The defence ministry has stopped releasing casualty figures saying it does not want to affect ongoing operations.

Tens of thousands of people have died on both sides since 1972, when the LTTE launched its campaign to carve out an independent state in the Sinhalese-majority island of 20 million people.

- AFP/yb