Colombo: Sri Lankan forces killed second-in-command of Sea Tigers, Cheliyan, in Kariyamullivaikkal on Friday. Sea Tigers is the naval wing on the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE).
The report of Cheliyan's death was confirmed by the Media Centre for National Security (MCNS) on Sunday with the army also claiming that the death of the Sea Tigers leader was confirmed by intercepts of LTTE's communications.
Meanwhile another report claims atleast 378 people have been killed in the last 24 hours in heavy shelling by the Sri Lankan army.
The shelling took place as Sri Lankan army pushed towards the area in which the LTTE cadres are trapped in a bid to rescue an estimated 20,000 civilians held hostage by the rebels.
Sri Lanka Health Ministry officials said that at least 300 dead and 1,100 injured persons were brought to makeshift hospitals in the safe zone.
The army denies shelling the safe zone for civilians, and blames the deaths on LTTE.
The claims could not be verified as reporters are banned from the war zone.
LTTE, cornered in two sq. km strip of land in Wanni region, blamed the Sri Lankan armed forces of shelling and killing more than over 2,000 civilians in the safe zone.
Head of the LTTE's international relations S Pathmanathan has been quoted by pro-LTTE website Tamilnet as saying that Sri Lankan security forces were shelling the civilians.
A military spokesman, however, denied that security forces carried out attacks against civilians and dismissed the rebel claim as propaganda.
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