COLOMBO, Dec. 15 (Xinhua) -- Sri Lanka's government troops captured a Tamil Tiger rebels' command hub in the north, the state radio said on Monday.

    The Sri Lanka Broadcasting Corporation said in its evening news that Ampakamam area in the northern Mullaithivu district was completely secured by the Army on Monday.

    Ampakamam, a strategically isolated village had been made good use by Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) rebels to gain tactical advantage over the government troops.

    The troops say they are poised to take from LTTE control both Kilinochchi - the rebels' political capital and Mullaithivu - the rebels' military focal point.

    Meanwhile, Sri Lanka Air Force said that some three air raids had been carried out in Kilinochchi and Mullaithivu districts in support of the ground troops advancing.

    The targets were vital rebels' points, the Air Force said.

    The government troops since the middle of last year have been making steady progress in their current military operations against the LTTE rebels.

    The LTTE has been fighting a fierce military campaign against government troops since the mid-1980s to carve out a separate homeland for the minority Tamil community in the north and east, resulting in the killing of more than 70,000 people.