Senior rebel killed in fighting with Sri Lanka troops

COLOMBO, May 4 (Xinhua) -- A senior Tamil Tiger leader was killed in the northeastern battle zone when troops captured another of rebel earth bunds, defense officials said Monday
Thamilendhi, the Tamil Tigers' leader in charge of its heavy weaponry, was killed Sunday as the Army's 53 division captured the bund north of the Nanthikandal lagoon.

The 500 meter long and 10 feet wide bund was one of many earth bunds built by the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) rebels to thwart troops' forward march.

The Army's 53, 55, 58 and Task Force 8 have positioned in the no fire zone at Puttumatalan in the northeastern Mullaithivu district where the rebels are mingling with civilians and attacking troops.

The government troops are now on the lookout for the LTTE's reclusive leader Velupillai Prabakaran, its feared intelligence wing leader Pottu Amman and its leader of the sea wing, Soosai.

Prabakaran and Pottu Amman are wanted in neighboring India for the 1991 murder of the former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi.

Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapakse said last week, Prabakaran, after being captured, will be tried in Sri Lanka before handing over to India.

The government says the LTTE's over three decade old military challenge from the Tigers would soon end.