Rebel camp captured in Sri Lanka

Colombo: Sri Lankan troops have captured a strategically important Tamil Tiger camp on the island's western coast, the military said, as government forces continue their push against the rebels' northern stronghold.

The capture of the rebel base in the northwestern district of Mannar came three days after the military said it had struck a "fatal blow" against the Tigers by capturing the northwestern town of Vidattaltivu, the main base of the rebels' sea wing. Fighting in the 25-year civil war is now concentrated in the north. An estimated 70,000 people have died since the civil war began.