The VoT broadcast announced the death of 240 LTTE cadres in the fighting. Most of them are believed to be women. Although the defence ministry has thrown a veil of secrecy over its debacle citing existing censorship regulations, sources said the number of soldiers killed and wounded may be as high as 500. Around 300 soldiers are believed missing.

Sources in Sri Lanka's defence ministry corroborated the LTTE's claim that Killinochchi,which the army had taken from the Tigers after heavy fighting in 1996, had been recaptured. Soldiers who could, fled the Killinochchi camp in the face of one of the fiercest counter-attacks by Tamil Tigers in recent months. In a major setback, the army has been forced to retreat 10 kms north to Paranthan, exposing its fragile control over territory captured from the LTTE.

Hundreds were killed or maimed by the LTTE's relentless artillery fire and hand-to-hand combat. No one knows the fate of around 300 soldiers who are believed to be trapped at Killinochchi, cut off from all help.

``It is very similar to Mullaithivu,'' a source said quoting a senior military official. In July 1996, the LTTE attacked Mullaithivu military base killing more than 1,200 soldiers in a single day. The LTTE has already codenamed Sunday's operation Ceaseless Wave 2, Mullaithivu being the first. As on that occasion, thousands of LTTE suicide cadres, most of them women, are said to have attacked Killinochchi in waves, overwhelmingthe soldiers by their sheer numbers and firepower. ``We were attacked from all sides,'' the source said.

Reports from northern Sri Lanka said the LTTE had commandeered civilians to clear dead bodies from the area. VoT radio said some bodies of soldiers had already been handed over to the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) in keeping with procedure.

The attack was launched in the early hours of Sunday on the entire stretch of defence lines that protect a sprawling army camp made up of several brigades from Killinochchi to Elephant Pass. These defence lines were established in September 1996 after the army made a successful push southward from Elephant Pass at the neck of Jaffna peninsula. Earlier that year, the army had taken control of the peninsula. An attempt by the LTTE to recapture Paranthan in January 1997 was unsuccessful and caused massive casualties on both sides. After a fierce artillery onslaught on Sunday, the LTTE was able to break through lines south of Paranthan, completelycutting off Killinochchi from the rest of the camp. An attempt by soldiers at Paranthan to link up with Killinochchi on Monday afternoon proved futile and was given up.

ENS adds from Colombo:An official communique from the ministry of defence stated that 150 soldiers were killed in action in 72 hours of fighting since Sunday. Nearly 300 were wounded, it added. The statement, quoting monitored LTTE transmissions, also claimed that 377 Tamil Tiger cadres had been killed and a `large number' wounded. A spokesman for the ICRC said it was preparing the logistics for the `possible transfer' of dead bodies of combatants. He said he could neither deny nor confirm the speculation that the LTTE was to hand over 500 bodies of soldiers to the ICRC.