Sri Lankan jets and helicopters bombed Tamil Tiger positions in the north of the island on Saturday, the military said, a day after ground forces seized the rebels' de facto capital Kilinochchi. The military is now targeting the port town of Mullaitivu and other rebel strongholds in the north, as it seeks to deliver a knockout blow to end the island's 25-year separatist war. There has been no direct comment from the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) on the fall of Kilinochchi.
"Fighter jets raided a Sea Tiger base in Mullaitivu while MI-24 helicopters attacked rebel positions in and around Mullaitivu in support of ground troops," Air Force spokesman Wing Commander Janaka Nanayakkara said.
Troops fought their way into Kilinochchi, deep in the north, on Friday in one of the biggest blows for the rebels in years. However, Tigers' website said they had moved their headquarters further northeast before the town fell.