960410

Forces mount

jungle offensive

against LTTE

COLOMBO: Security forces have launched an offensive against Tamil Tiger guerrillas in the jungles of northeast Sri Lanka, defence officials said Wednesday.

Troops moved against bases of the separatist Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) in the Kattaparichan area in Trincomalee district on Tuesday evening, the sources said.

"At least two Tigers were killed in a brief encounter on Tuesday," a local defence official said adding that the operation was still underway in the area where the Tigers were known to operate several bases.

There had been an upsurge of guerrilla attacks in east in the past month ahead of a possible military onslaught against the Tamil Tigers in the north.

Security forces and the Tamil Tigers have said they were bracing for a renewed round of fighting.

The government has already announced a nationwide state of emergency saying that the Tigers were planning to create violence during local council elections that are due by June this year.-APP