Jan 19, Colombo: Sri Lankan troops consolidating in the recently captured area of Dharmapuram in Mullaitivu District found a large underground LTTE fuel storage facility today, the military said.

The detection of the fuel storage follows the discovery of a heavily fortified concrete bunker believed to be recently constructed as a hideout for the LTTE leader Velupillai Prabhakaran.

Troops pulled out 300 barrels of fuel hidden under the ground and covered with plastic in a 10-acre coconut grove. The army said the stock of oil found is sufficient for at least two years for LTTE operations.

“The barrels had been properly sealed and covered from polythene before they were buried,” the army said.

The place has been booby trapped with explosives and mines to delay the discovery, the army added.

Meanwhile, the Air Force said the airplane wreckage found yesterday near the LTTE’s 6th airstrip east of Iranaimadhu tank in the Mullaitivu jungles belongs to a Sri Lanka Air Force aircraft that crashed into the area several years ago.