Sri Lankas elusive Tamil rebel supremo was wounded in an air strike last month by security forces shortly after his annual policy broadcast, a privately-run newspaper here reported Sunday.The Nation newspaper said Velupillai Prabhakaran, leader of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), was wounded in an underground bunker in the northern district of Kilinochchi on November 28. A section of the bunker had crumbled and some falling debris had struck the LTTE leader, the newspaper said, quoting sources in rebel-held territory.
The paper added that Prabhakaran, who delivered his annual policy statement a day earlier, which pledged to continue fighting, was treated at an underground medical unit and recovered fully from minor injuries. There was no immediate reaction to the report either from the Tigers or Sri Lankan defence authorities.
Last month, Prabhakarans de facto number two, SP Thamilselvan, was killed in an air attack by the Sri Lankan military. Prabhakaran, 53, then vowed to avenge the killing of his political chief. The attack on Prabhakaran reportedly took place a day after Sri Lankas powerful defence secretary, Gotabhaya Rajapakse, vowed the military would target the rebel leadership.
The killing of Thamilselvan sent a very powerful message: they know we have good intelligence on their movements, Rajapakse told AFP in an interview last month at the heavily-fortified defence ministry in Colombo. We are after him (Prabhakaran). We are specifically targeting their leadership, he said.
Arms purchases: Sri Lanka will meet with Indian and Russian delegations this week on possible arms purchases including air defence weaponry as clashes with Tamil Tiger rebels escalate, press reports here said Sunday. Defence officials from India and Russia will hold separate talks with Sri Lankan authorities on improving systems used against the low-flying Czech-built Zlin Z-143 operated by Tiger guerrillas, the reports said.
India which has provided a radar system to Sri Lankas military was expected to hold talks on upgrading the equipment and improving the air defence capability of government forces, the Sunday Times here said. The military is seeking to upgrade its fleet of Mi-35 helicopter gunships and talks with the Russian delegation from Monday will focus on buying a major consignment of Russian-made weapons, the Lakbimanews weekly said.
There was no immediate comment from the defence ministry or the Russia and Indian diplomatic missions in Colombo. Sri Lanka has been trying to upgrade its weapons and air defences since Tamil Tiger rebels earlier this year began flying light aircraft smuggled into the country in pieces to be later re-assembled.
Sri Lankas military has vowed to go all out to target Tamil Tiger leader Velupillai Prabhakaran during air strikes on rebel positions, a state-run newspaper reported Sunday.
Sri Lankas government vowed Monday to continue hitting Tamil Tiger leaders with air strikes as a way of bringing peace to the island, following a raid last week that killed the rebels political chief.
Sri Lankan troops used war planes and long-range weapons to attack suspected Tamil Tiger positions as fresh fighting broke out early on Saturday, the defence ministry said.
The Tamil Tigers have said that shelling of their territory by Sri Lankan troops amounted to a declaration of war, but they had not yet decided whether to retaliate. 
PANIPITIYA: One of Sri Lankas top generals was killed on Monday by a suspected Tamil Tiger suicide bomber who rammed his motorcycle into an army convoy near the capital killing three other people, officials said. Army Deputy Chief of Staff Major-General Parami Kulatunga was traveling to army headquarters when the attacker approached his vehicle and an escorting army pickup truck in rush-hour traffic. The blast left the car a twisted wreck. The general is dead. Two others (soldiers) are also dead, Police Chief Inspector Chaminda Bamunuarachchi told Reuters at the scene. A civilian was also killed. Kulatungas car was left lying perpendicular across the narrow street, burnt-out and still smouldering. A Reuters witness saw the severed head of the suspected suicide bomber lying in the gutter around 50 metres down the street. Nine people were wounded in the attack in the town of Panipitiya, around 6 miles (10 km) from a big army base. 
Sri Lanka's government and Tamil Tiger guerrillas have each claimed victory after a naval clash that officials said left more than 40 people dead or missing. The Tigers also threatened retaliation if air force bombing continued.