2 LTTE operatives killed in northern Sri Lanka

Two alleged LTTE operatives were among three persons killed by Sri Lankan Army during a major operation against suspected Tamil rebels, the first since the end of civil war in 2009, a military spokesman said today.

Kajeepan Ponniah Selvanayagam alias Gopi and Sundaralingam Kajeepan alias Thevian have been killed in a skirmish with the military last night in a jungle area at Nedunkerny in northern Vavuniya district, military spokesman Brigadier Ruwan Wanigasooriya said.

The heavily-armed men were killed as they tried to break the cordon and escape, he said.While Gopi and Thevian had been identified, the military was still trying to establish if the third person killed was another LTTE operative named Appan.

Gopi, who was suspected to be involved in the LLTE's bid to revive the group in Sri Lanka, has been on the run since mid-March.

According to the officials, both Gopi and his accomplice were involved in subversive activities aimed at destabilising the civilian administration in the north and east and also fueling ethnic hatred among the major communities.

This is the biggest security incident in the north since the defeat of the LTTE in a military campaign in 2009.

The government yesterday said that some 65 suspected LTTE cadres had been arrested over the last month for attempting to revive the group who ran a military campaign lasting over three decades to set up a separate Tamil homeland.