The Sri Lankan army (SLA) on Friday captured the strategic Elephant Pass (EPS) located north of Kilinochchi after days of fierce fighting with the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE).
The victory of the armed forces also means that the A9 road, which connects Jaffna to Kandy, would
now be completely under government control for the first time in 23 years. Large parts of the 340 km-long were under the LTTE till recently.
The announcement about capturing EPS was made on national television by President Mahinda Rajapaksa.
The EPS is considered because it connects the Jaffna Peninsula to the rest of the country. While the peninsula is controlled by the LTTE, Jaffna town is under the control of SLA. This is the latest in the series of military reverses that the LTTE has suffered in the recent months.
In another development, seven persons including three Air Force personnel and four civilians were killed in an LTTE claymore mine attack in Morawewa.