{"page":"\u003clink rel=\"stylesheet\" href=\"https://lessonplanet.com/assets/packs/css/resources-572d6a42.css\" /\u003e\n\u003clink rel=\"stylesheet\" href=\"https://lessonplanet.com/assets/packs/css/lp_boclips_stylesheets-f4d0de30.css\" media=\"all\" /\u003e\n\u003cdiv data-title='Military says troops enter Tigers de facto capital; blast; President' data-url='/boclips/videos/5c54c0efd8eafeecae14e83f' data-video-url='/boclips/videos/5c54c0efd8eafeecae14e83f' id='bo_player_modal'\u003e\n\u003cdiv class='boclips-resource-page modal-dialog panel-container'\u003e\n\u003cdiv class='react-notifications-root'\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv class='rp-header'\u003e\n\u003cdiv class='rp-type'\u003e\n\u003ci aria-hidden='true' class='fai fa-regular fa-circle-play'\u003e\u003c/i\u003e\nVideo\n\u003c/div\u003e\n\u003ch1 class='rp-title' id='video-title'\u003e\nMilitary says troops enter Tigers de facto capital; blast; President\n\u003c/h1\u003e\n\u003cdiv class='rp-actions'\u003e\n\u003cdiv class='mr-1'\u003e\n\u003ca class=\"btn btn-success\" data-posthog-event=\"Signup: LP Signup Activity\" data-posthog-location=\"body_link_boclips\" data-remote=\"true\" href=\"/subscription/new\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003e\u003cspan\u003eGet Free Access\u003c/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"\"\u003e for 10 Days\u003c/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003e!\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/a\u003e\n\u003c/div\u003e\n\u003c/div\u003e\n\u003c/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv class='rp-body'\u003e\n\u003cdiv class='rp-info'\u003e\n\u003cdiv aria-label='Hide resource details' class='rp-hide-info' role='button' tabindex='0'\u003e\u0026times;\u003c/div\u003e\n\u003ci aria-label='Expand resource details' class='rp-expand-info fai fa-solid fa-up-right-and-down-left-from-center' role='button' tabindex='0'\u003e\u003c/i\u003e\n\u003ci aria-label='Compress resource details' class='rp-compress-info fai fa-solid fa-down-left-and-up-right-to-center' role='button' tabindex='0'\u003e\u003c/i\u003e\n\u003cdiv class='rp-rating'\u003e\n\u003cspan class='resource-pool'\u003e\n\u003cspan class='pool-label'\u003ePublisher:\u003c/span\u003e\n\u003cspan class='pool-name'\u003e\n\u003cspan class='text'\u003e\u003ca data-publisher-id=\"30356011\" href=\"/search?publisher_ids%5B%5D=30356011\"\u003eCurated Video\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/span\u003e\n\u003c/span\u003e\n\u003c/span\u003e\n\u003c/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv class='rp-description'\u003e\n\u003cspan class='short-description'\u003e1. Wide of audience2. Mid of screen showing Sri Lanka's maps3. SOUNDBITE (Sinhalese) Mahinda Rajapaksa, Sri Lanka's President:\"A short while ago, our brave and heroic troops have fully captured Kilinochchi, that was considered the main...\u003c/span\u003e\n\u003cspan class='full-description hide'\u003e1. Wide of audience\u003cbr/\u003e2. Mid of screen showing Sri Lanka's maps\u003cbr/\u003e3. SOUNDBITE (Sinhalese) Mahinda Rajapaksa, Sri Lanka's President:\u003cbr/\u003e\"A short while ago, our brave and heroic troops have fully captured Kilinochchi, that was considered the main bastion of the LTTE (Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam). Our troops have completely taken over the fortress of the LTTE, that has been described by our own leaders and accepted internationally as the most powerful terrorist organisation in the world. Whatever the words or language used to describe it, this is truly an incomparable victory. What our heroic troops have achieved is not only the capture of the great fortress of the LTTE, but a major victory in the world's battle against terrorism. The entire world must today appreciate the outstanding success of the Sri Lankan troops. Although the leader of the LTTE had said only a few days ago that the capture of Kilinochchi was only a dream of Mahinda Rajapaksa, in truth it was not my dream alone. 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.\u003cbr/\u003e4. Audience applauding\u003cbr/\u003e5. Wide of blast site\u003cbr/\u003e6. Armed security at scene\u003cbr/\u003e7. Damaged scooters, security\u003cbr/\u003e8. Security guarding cordoned off area\u003cbr/\u003e9. Wide of damaged scooter, bus, security\u003cbr/\u003e10. Security guarding cordoned off area\u003cbr/\u003e11. Blood stain\u003cbr/\u003e12. Security\u003cbr/\u003eGovernment forces captured the Tamil Tigers' de facto capital in northern Sri Lanka on Friday, dealing a blow to the rebels' quarter-century fight for an independent state, the president said.\u003cbr/\u003eBut in a sign the rebels retained their ability to strike back, a suspected Tamil Tiger suicide attacker on a motorcycle detonated a bomb near the air force headquarters in the heart of Colombo during Friday's afternoon rush hour, killing two airmen, a police spokesman said.\u003cbr/\u003eThe attacker, who was targeting troops as they left work, wounded 30 other people, including nine airmen, he said.\u003cbr/\u003eThe blast pierced the festive mood that had swept across the capital after President Mahinda Rajapaksa announced the fall of Kilinochchi in a nationally televised speech.\u003cbr/\u003e\"Our brave and heroic troops have fully captured Kilinochchi, which was considered the main bastion of the LTTE,\" he said, referring to the rebels by their formal name, the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam. \u003cbr/\u003eRajapaksa called upon the LTTE to lay down their arms and surrender.\u003cbr/\u003eAcross Colombo, people lit firecrackers, danced in the streets and waved Sri Lankan flags.\u003cbr/\u003eKilinochchi held great symbolic value as the center of the Tamil Tigers' de facto state and its capture by government forces for the first time in a decade was sure to badly damage the rebels' morale. \u003cbr/\u003eThe rebels used the town as their headquarters and created structures for an independent state, such as police, courts and tax offices.\u003cbr/\u003eBut the rebel-affiliated TamilNet Web site said the Tamil Tigers had moved their headquarters further to the northeast before the town fell. Kilinochchi does not lie along a key crossroads or house major rebel bases or armouries, and military analysts said its strategic value was not great.\u003cbr/\u003eRebel officials were not immediately available for comment, but they have said in the past that they would fight on even if Kilinochchi fell.\u003cbr/\u003eThe rebels have fought since 1983 to create an independent homeland in the north and east for Tamils, who have suffered decades of marginalisation by successive governments controlled by the Sinhalese majority. \u003cbr/\u003eThe army first captured Kilinochchi from the rebels in 1996, but lost it in a rebel counterattack in 1998.\u003cbr/\u003eThe government has predicted repeatedly over the last two months that the town was about to fall. \u003cbr/\u003eBut the rebels built a massive, 10.5 mile (17 kilometre) -long fortification, and fierce resistance from the guerrillas and pounding monsoon rains made it difficult for government forces to advance. \u003cbr/\u003eThe battles reportedly killed hundreds of fighters.\u003cbr/\u003eArmy troops cleared the way into the town on Thursday when they captured a key crossroad north of Kilinochchi that allowed them to close in from three directions, the military said.\u003cbr/\u003eTroops entered Kilinochchi Friday morning, said a military spokesman. \u003cbr/\u003eSenior military officials said their forces met only minimal resistance once in the town, an apparent sign that the rebels had withdrawn and retreated to their jungle bases, analysts said.\u003cbr/\u003eThe government had previously vowed to end the war by the end of 2008.\u003cbr/\u003eBut Tamil Tiger political leader Balasingham Nadesan told The Associated Press on Tuesday that the rebels began as a guerrilla group and would be able to keep fighting even if they lost much of the territory they controlled in the north.\u003cbr/\u003eThe conflict has killed more than 70,000 people.\u003cbr/\u003eThe United States, European Union and other nations 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