COLOMBO, Nov 17: At least 25 combatants have died since the military restarted its operation in northern Sri Lanka and captured a key area in territory held by the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), the military headquarters said.A communique from the Defence Ministry said at least 20 fighters of the LTTE and five soldiers were killed when Operation Jaya Sekuru began to advance towards Killinochchi, to which the army is trying to establish a route from Vavuniya.In what has been dubbed as the ``final phase'' of the six-month operation in the Vanni, soldiers advanced further north from the Oddusudan area during the weekend and were confronted by large groups of LTTE fighters during the advance, the statement disclosed.``Troops engaged them effectively with mortars and artillery causing heavy casualties among the terrorists,'' it stated. While a ``large number'' of LTTE cadres were injured in the fighting, the military said 17 of its soldiers had to be admitted to hospital.According to other reports, commandos of the Special Forces have also captured Puliyankulam, 22 km north of Vavuniya and an important junction on the main road to Killinochchi.Puliyankulam was one of the points on the route that was strongly defended by the Tigers and several attempts by the military to capture it ended in failure and heavy losses of manpower and materials.After one such attempt in August, the military abandoned the advance on the road and descended into the jungles bordering Mullaithivu to the east of the highway.
