Sri Lankan troops capture Tamil Tiger territory

COLOMBO - Sri Lankan troops cleared mines and searched for boobytraps in newly captured Tamil Tiger terrain in the island's northeast.

Seizing the rebel-held settlement of Sampur, the first major capture of territory by either side, brought a lull in the worst fighting since a 2002 ceasefire.

The Army took the southern edge of the strategic Trincomalee Harbour yesterday after days of artillery battles. "We are ... clearing landmines from the area," said a military spokesman.

The Tamil Tigers had been able to shell Trincomalee's naval base and disrupt a maritime supply route to the Army-held Jaffna Peninsula to the north from their positions in Sampur.

- REUTERS