Fresh from their success in capturing the last urban stronghold of LTTE in Mullaittivu, the Sri Lankan troops are training their guns on elusive Tamil Tiger chief Velupillai Prabhakaran who, defence officials feel, is "very much" in the northern Wanni region.
"Our aim is to capture Prabhakaran dead or alive and we are sure he is around Mullaittivu commanding the militants though they have limited options as most of the LTTE areas have been captured," a senior defence official said.
"We are concentrating as a unit to target LTTE top leaders, especially Prabhakaran, as they might try to escape realising they do not have many options to hide," the official said. He felt that the guerrilla leader is "very much" in the Wanni region, which comprises Kilinochchi and Mullaittivu.
Announcing the capture of the main Mullaittivu town yesterday, Sri Lanka army chief Lt Gen Sarath Fonseka had declared that the war was "95 per cent over".
The army believes that after the capture of a luxury bunker and an underground command centre suspected to be that of Prabhakaran, the LTTE leader would be seriously weighing all options either to flee or to find some hiding place.
The bunker, which is believed to have housed Prabhakaran, and the underground operations unit of the LTTE were found in the thick forests of Dharmapuram town in Mullaittivu last week.
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