The top leadership of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) are still hiding in the last hold of the rebels as troops keep inching towards them.

This handout picture from the Sri Lankan Ministry of Defence on May 15 shows soldiers check destroyed a military equipment from the Tamil Tiger guerrillas. Sri Lanka’s over 30-year-old conflict with the Tamil Tiger rebels is to end within the next 48 hours, Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapakse has said.(Xinhua/AFP photo)

Soosai’s wife, two teenage children and his sister in law and children were nabbed by the Navy off Mullaithivu seas Friday morning, Navy spokesman Capt DKP Dassanayake said.

Troops now on the verge of completely crushing the rebels are on the look out for the rebel leader Velupillai Prabakaran, his deputy Pottu Amman, Soosai, and other top leaders.

They lost a large number of second level leadership in the early April fighting.

Troops have been surrounding the LTTE in Karayimullivaikkal and Mullivalikkal areas — just 3.5 sq km in extent in the northeastern Mullaithivu district.

More than 70,000 died in the island’s separatist war waged by the Tiger rebels to carve out a separate homeland for the minority Tamils.

VietNamNet/Xinhuanet