Colombo, March 9 (IANS) Advancing Sri Lankan troops have killed at least 250 Tamil Tigers in the past few days and also recovered the bodies of 130 rebels during clearing operations in Mullaitivu district, military officials said Monday.
“The troops comprehensively neutralised the LTTE offensive waves, inflicting heavy damages among them since Thursday. Over 250 cadres have been killed and similar or more numbers have been wounded,” military spokesman Brigadier Udaya Nanayakkara told IANS Monday.

He said the troops during clearing operations in the area also recovered a large haul of weapons along with the bodies of 130 LTTE men during the past two days.

The defence ministry has released the photographs of a pile of killed LTTE men and weapons recovered during search operation. It also said that troops “thwarted successive offensive attempts made by LTTE to infiltrate the military forward defences south of Chalai Sunday”.

The LTTE had maintained its major naval base in Chalai, lying along the island’s eastern coastal belt in Mullaitivu, till the troops captured it last month after months of heavy fighting.

“The LTTE had made the infiltration move, mainly taking advantage of the lull in military retaliation; a strict policy adhered by the troops following the declaration of the ‘No Fire Zone’ to secure safety of those civilians held hostage by LTTE,” the defence ministry report said.

It said that on receiving “timely ground intelligence and aerial reconnaissance information”, the troops awaited well prepared for the LTTE infiltration bids.

“Unnoticed, 200 odd terrorists were drawn into a massive ambush laid by the 58 Division and Special Forces (SF) troops. With the break of first light troops engaged the rear positions of the LTTE offensive flanks, leaving terrorists in total disarray, seizing a large haul of weapons and communication equipment,” it said.