Sri Lankan army 'gaining ground'

The rebels say they are mounting a successful defence

More territory has been captured from the Tamil Tigers, the Sri Lankan army says, as it continues its battle for the rebel stronghold of Kilinochchi.

It says that troops have captured the village of Olumadu, near the rebel-held town of Mullaitivu in the north.

Tensions are running high in the east where police say at least nine people, including two soldiers, have been killed in separate violent incidents.

It is the greatest loss of life in a single day for months in the east.

The eastern region is governed by a coalition led by the party which defected from the Tamil Tigers, known as Tamil Makkal Viduthalai Puligal (TMVP).

See map of the region

Two soldiers were killed in a mine attack while three rebels were killed in clashes with troops during a search operation.

A government official and two of his family members, including his 85-year-old mother, were shot dead by unidentified gunmen elsewhere in the region.

No group has admitted responsibility for the killings but the campaign group, Human Rights Watch, alleges that the TMVP is responsible for some of the recent killings and abductions.

Correspondents say that with the battle raging in the north, some view the increase in attacks on security forces in the east as a diversionary tactic by the rebels.

'Heavy casualties'

A statement on the army's website said: "The battle to liberate rebel-held areas entered a new phase when the troops of Task Force Three captured Olumadu."

The army says that it is on the verge of victory

It said the rebels had suffered heavy casualties in two days of fighting.

The website said that troops were now consolidating their positions around Olumadu and had recovered the body of a "senior Tamil Tiger" figure.

However, the pro-rebel website, TamilNet, has released photos of "dead soldiers" from the fighting around Kilinochchi.

Correspondents say the photos - if genuine - are the first to be publicly released of the weekend offensive by the army to capture the rebels' de facto capital in the north.

The TamilNet website says the bodies of at least five soldiers shown on its page illustrate "the victimisation of a young generation of Sinhalese by the state".

The "identity tag" of one of the soldiers is also displayed on the site, alongside rebel claims that 43 soldiers were killed and 70 wounded in the recent fighting.

The army wants to crush efforts by the rebels to secure a separate Tamil state.

On Thursday the Tigers' leader Velupillai Prabhakaran is to deliver his only speech of the year as the rebels commemorate their dead.

Aid agencies have estimated as many as 230,000 people in rebel-controlled areas have been displaced by the fighting.

The Tamil Tigers have been fighting for a separate homeland for Tamils in the north and east since 1983 and about 70,000 people have been killed in the violence.

MAP OF THE REGION

Click here to return