Prabhakaran could be leading LTTE on battle front: Army

Amid widespread speculation about the whereabout of the Tamil Tiger supremo, who has vowed not to be captured alive, the Lankan military said that Velupillai Prabhakaran could be at the centre stage of the battle with the army.

Amid widespread speculation about the whereabout of the Tamil Tiger supremo, who has vowed not to be captured alive, the Lankan military on Monday said that Velupillai Prabhakaran could be at the centre stage of the battle with the army.

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Udaya Nanayakkara, the Lankan military spokesman, said the LTTE chief could be at the centre stage of the battle going by the deployment of the second rung leaders directly into the clashes with the security forces.

“The intercepts that we are getting about exchange of messages by the second rung LTTE leaders is indicative of Tamil Tiger leader Velupillai Prabhakaran still being in the Wanni,” Nanayakkara underlined on Monday.

The military said there is a chance that Prabhakaran is still in a shrinking war zone in northern Sri Lanka and has not fled the island nation.

When asked whether Prabhakaran could himself be at the centre stage of the battle himself due to the reverses being suffered by the LTTE, the spokesman said “it is possible”.

The army has won a string of major victories over the guerrillas in recent weeks, as the military prepares to inflict a "decisive blow" to the LTTE.