Sri Lanka's government troops on Friday wrested from rebel Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) control the town of Kilinochchi, their former administrative headquarters, the government military sources said.

The Sri Lanka Army headquarters sources said the troops had entered the town of Kilinochchi from three directions Friday morning and have taken control of all major locations.

Kilinochchi has been under LTTE control since 1998 and served as its administrative capital of its de facto separate state in the island's north.

The troops came up with LTTE resistance in their bid to capture the district since late August last year.

The troops braved inclement weather in the form of monsoonal showers which hampered their progress.

The government says the district of Kilinochchi has much importance in crushing the LTTE's military capability in its present campaign to end terrorism from the island. The LTTE which fought a bitter campaign since the mid 1980s to set up a separate homeland for the minority Tamils lost huge territory to the advancing government troops since mid 2007.

(Xinhua News Agency January 2, 2009)