Sri Lanka's president said its troops captured the separatist Tamil Tigers' headquarters town of Kilinochchi on Friday, but within an hour of the announcement a suspected suicide bomber killed at least two people in the capital. Troops fought their way into the Tigers' de facto capital of Kilinochchi deep in the north, in one of the biggest blows for the rebels in years. “It was the constant dream of all Sri Lankans, whether Sinhala, Tamil or Muslim, who are opposed to separatism, racism, and terrorism, and have always, sought peace, freedom and democracy. Today our heroic troops have made that dream a reality,” President Mahinda Rajapaksa said in a nationally televised address. Soon afterwards, a suspected suicide attacker riding a motorcycle struck near the headquarters of the Sri Lankan Air Force, a military official said. “At least two people were killed from the suicide attack near the Air Force headquarters,” a military spokesman said. Hospital officials said 30 people were admitted with blast injuries. The Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) has been fighting for a separate homeland for minority Tamils in the east and north of the island for a quarter of a century. “ The fall of Kilinochchi means the LTTE will have their only territory in Mullaitivu,” said Iqbal Athas, a defense analyst with Jane's Defense, referring to a rebel stronghold in the northeast. The fall of Kilinochchi was greeted with the bursting of firecrackers in Colombo. Others waved the national flag as they drove through the streets of the capital.
