COLOMBO, Jan. 8 (Xinhua) -- The military in Sri Lanka said Thursday that Army soldiers have liberated the Pallai town in the northern Jaffna peninsula from the control of Tamil Tiger rebels, making another blow to the rebels.

    The ministry of defense said in a statement that the troops of Army 53 Division operating in the Jaffna peninsula entered the town in the morning after beating the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE).

    Pallai is located about 280 km north of Colombo and the LTTE earlier placed its heavy artillery gun positions in the town.

    The troops of 53 Division have advanced about 6 km from their earlier defense line at Muhamalai and now heading towards the Soranpattu, the next LTTE stronghold in the peninsula, said the statement.

    The capture of Pallai came less than a week after the fall of Kilinochchi, which has been the rebels' headquarters for more than10 years.

    The current military conflict between the government and the LTTE began to escalate in mid-2006, resulting in the LTTE losing most of its territory to government troops.

    Military leaders now say the security forces will capture the remaining LTTE controlled areas within weeks.

    The LTTE has been fighting for a separate state in the north and east for minority Tamils since July 1983, when organized mobs from the majority Sinhala community killed a large number of minority Tamils living in the south and also destroyed their homes and economic interests.

    More than 70,000 people have been killed in the island's civil war -- one of the longest in Asia.