Moving closer to ‘annihilating’ the LTTE, Sri Lankan troops captured their last stronghold of Pudukudiriyirippu and pushed the rebels into a narrow 'no-fire zone' packed with civilians after killing at least 420 Tamil Tigers in heavy fighting in the north.

LTTE supremo Velupillai Prabhakaran, second-in-command Pottu Amman and other senior commanders of the guerrillas are believed to be holed up in the 20 sq-km safety zone, the military said today and accused the rebels of using the tens of thousands civilians as ‘human shields’.

The Army has captured the entire Pudukudiriyirippu area that was under the control of the Tamil Tigers, who have lost many of their key leaders in the latest fighting, military spokesman Udaya Nanayakkara said. Bodies of 420 rebels killed in intense clashes with advancing troops in the past three days have been recovered from the war zone, he added.

"Prabhakaran is in the 20 sq-km no-fire zone after army captured the remaining one sq-km LTTE area in Pudukudiyirippu.

He will be caught dead or alive. It will be easier to detect him amongst the people because of his heavy size," a top Defence Ministry official told PTI.

Military sources said a number of senior LTTE leaders, including Theepan, Ruben, Nagesh, Gadaphi (a former bodyguard of Prabakaran), Vidusha (head of 'Malathi' female wing), Durga (head of 'Soothiya' female wing) and Kamalini were killed in fighting since last night.

India should treat us as an 'ally': Nadesan

On the verge of defeat at the hands of the Sri Lankan forces, the LTTE appealed to India to treat them as their ‘ally’.

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