The Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam is trying to sneak its leader Velupillai Prabhakaran out of Sri Lanka for treatment abroad following severe injuries he is said to have sustained in an air raid in November, a government-owned newspaper claimed on Friday.
The Daily News also claimed 116 of the 200 guards protecting the LTTE chief had died in the recent attack by the Sri Lankan Air Force, in which Prabhakaran was said to have been injured.
The LTTE, which has denied reports of injury to Prabhakaran, could not be contacted for its comments on the latest Daily News claim.
A senior defence ministry official said since intelligence reports have 'confirmed' that Prabhakaran sustained injuries on November 26, there could be an attempt by the Tiger leader to go to India for treatment if the medical facilities in Killinocchi or Mullaithivu were not sufficient to treat him.
"But India will not provide any facility for Prabhakaran and we will not allow him to leave the country and will maintain strict vigilance on the LTTE movement," the official felt.
The newspaper said the condition of Prabhakaran, a diabetic, has worsened and the LTTE is looking at prospects of taking him out of the country for treatment.
"Intelligence reports indicate that the Tiger chief has sustained injuries or fractures in his arm and a leg. Since the Tiger leader is already suffering from diabetes, the situation has got worse and the LTTE is making attempts to evacuate him to a foreign country for further treatment," the newspaper said.
"The MIGs and Kfirs that went into action, took a precise target north of Killinochchi in Jayanthinagar at around 5.25 pm on November 26. They carried out the air raids using a sufficient number of bombs that can destroy the type of hard bunker where Tiger leader Prabhakaran usually hides," the paper said.
The Tiger leader has around 200 guards around him at all times. The SLAF has received reliable information that 116 of Prabhakaran's bodyguards also perished in the air raid, the report said.
According to information available, the LTTE removed rubble from the location of the air attack to save the life of Prabhakaran, who was trapped inside a destroyed bunker, it added.