Senior Tiger leader killed in Nagarkovil

By Bharatha Mallawarachchi

COLOMBO, Sri Lanka, (AP) - Sri Lankan soldiers shot dead a senior Tamil Tiger leader when troops pre-empted an attack on a northern defence line, the military said Saturday.

Tigers were preparing to attack the defence line at Nagarkovil in Jaffna peninsula on Friday but were confronted by troops, triggering a fierce gunbattle, an official at the Defence Ministry Information Center said on condition of anonymity.

He said soldiers confirmed that a senior Tiger leader was killed in the fighting. The military did not give the name of the rebel leader.

There was no immediate comment from the LTTE who have fought since 1983 for an independent homeland for the country's ethnic minority Tamils. Last month, the government celebrated the recapture of the East from the Tigers.