81.   Defence officials said that the Tigers fiercely resisted the military onslaught over the past week because they had no fallback town after Kilinochchi.

82.   Defence officials said the guerrillas had also organised a blood donation campaign in areas under their control.

83.   Defence officials said the thousands of troops who took Jaffna may be moved to the east where rebels have taken over vast areas in recent months.

84.   Defence officials said the use of hand-held mortar bombs was a cause for serious concern and signalled that potential LTTE targets would have to take tighter security precautions.

85.   Defence officials say the fall of Jaffna, the symbol of Tamil separatism, was inevitable but acknowledge that the hardened Tigers can still inflict heavy casualties.

86.   Details of casualties were not clear even hours after the fighting subsided, but defence officials said hundreds could have died Thursday.

87.   Defence force officials here have dismissed reports from Afghanistan that Australian SAS troops were accidentally involved in a clash with warring tribesmen rather than Taliban fighters.

88.   Defence ministry officials on Tuesday confirmed fighting between two local commanders in northern Sari Pul province on Sunday, but rejected concerns that security was out of control.

89.   Defence ministry officials said the Taliban attack was a clear attempt to stop Hekmatyar reaching Kabul.

90.   Defence ministry officials said the town was taken early in the day in a four-hour offensive during which warplanes assisted the ground forces.