Sri Lanka said Friday that its troops had captured the Catholic Church at Madhu in the northwestern district of Mannar from Tamil Tiger guerrillas.

'The Sri Lanka Army has liberated the sacred Madhu shrine by beating off the occupying LTTE terrorists. The soldiers reached the shrine as the terrorists beat a retreat unable to withstand the army advance,' the defence ministry said.

'At present, the troops are clearing the surroundings of the church as there is a strong possibility that the terrorists have booby trapped the church building,' the ministry said.

There was no immediate reaction from the LTTE. The Catholic Church at Madhu is one of Sri Lanka's most popular shrines.