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Most wanted Tamil Tiger pair arrested

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Security forces have captured two of the Tamil Tigers' most wanted fighters along with six of their accomplices, defence sources said yesterday.

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Police said the arrests at the weekend of the two rebel leaders, in the Greater Colombo area and in the North Central Province, represented a major breakthrough for the country's security forces.

Police and army intelligence have launched a full-scale hunt for a haul of powerful explosives in Colombo and the north-central town of Anuradhapura following the arrests.

Investigators said the two hard-core rebels, Illanko and Selvarajah, had been identified as leaders of the elite Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam suicide squad.

Illanko had planned to lead a team of Black Tiger guerillas to destroy one of Sri Lanka's holiest Buddhist shrines, in the sacred city of Anuradhapura.

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Three others, suspected to be members of a 10-man suicide squad, were arrested along with him while travelling in a lorry towards their designated target.

Police said the four suspects arrested in the Greater Colombo area of suburban Dehiwela had confessed to having stashed a large consignment of arms and explosives in rebel safe houses in the metropolis.

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