LTTE using chemical weapons to halt Lankan offensive?

Colombo: As the Lankan army prepares to inflict a "decisive blow" to the LTTE guerrillas, the capture of a fertilizer warehouse by the military in the Mullaitivu district has fuelled speculation about the use of chemical weapons in the war zones, officials said today.
At least 14 LTTE guerrillas and three civilians were killed as the army intensified its offensives to capture the remaining pockets of the Tamil Tigers in embattled Northern Sri Lanka, the defence ministry said.
The ministry said the troops linked to the 8 Sinha Regiment (8th SR) reportedly discovered a fertilizer warehouse at Udayarkattu in Mullaitivu district's Pudukudiirippu West area.
The LTTE is one of the pioneering terrorist groups in the world to use fertilizer as explosives even before the Western governments became aware of its use as a terror weapon, it said.
The fate of the civilians trapped in the war zone has become a matter of international concern, with the government accusing the LTTE guerrillas of using civilians as human shields.
Three civilians, including a 9-year-old, were reported killed among 66 people who sought military protection after fleeing from LTTE held areas at Pudumathalan in the north yesterday, the defence ministry said.
The Tamil Tigers have been fighting since 1983 for an independent state for the minority ethnic Tamils, alleging marginalisation of the community for decades by governments dominated by the Sinhalese. Over 70,000 people have been killed in the civil war in the Island nation.