Colombo - The Sri Lankan army admitted yesterday it had lost the strategic northern town of Killinochchi to Tamil Tiger guerrillas, as it prepared to receive more bodies of soldiers killed in action.
An army spokesman said troops killed 620 rebels of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) and lost nearly 500 soldiers in battles for Killinochchi and Mankulam, a key junction south of a strategically vital highway.