Sri Lankan forces poised for final assault on LTTE

A pre-dawn breakout bid through the high seas by beleaguered Tamil Tigers was today foiled by Sri Lankan navy, who sank their three boats killing 23 sea Tigers as the army appeared poised for a final assault.

A pre-dawn breakout bid through the high seas by beleaguered Tamil Tigers was on Friday foiled by Sri Lankan navy, who sank their three boats killing 23 sea Tigers as the army appeared poised for a final assault.

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The Lankan warships which have blockaded the small coastline off Mullaittivu, still held by the Tigers noticed an attempt by three LTTE boats to take to sea and sank them after challenging them, a naval spokesman said.

This is the second time in less than four days that Sri Lankan navy has thwarted attempts by Tamil Tigers to put their boats to sea. The encounter comes as reports say that the entire LTTE leadership including its supremo V Prabhakaran are holed up in a small stretch of land.

On the land, the army tightened their siege of the last strip of land controlled by the Tigers and appeared poised to launch the final assault.

Military spokesman Brig Udaya Nanayakkara said, “the Tigers have no land escape route left. We have troops in place to move anytime.”

In the battle-front, three Divisions of the Sri Lankan force estimated to number around 22-30,000 have surrounded the Tigers, whose fighting cadres are reported to be around 900-1,200.