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Sri Lankan rebel leader 'is dead' Sri Lankan rebel leader 'is dead'
(21 minutes later)
The leader of the Tamil Tiger rebels, Velupillai Prabhakaran, is dead, Sri Lankan state television has said. The leader of the Tamil Tiger rebels, Velupillai Prabhakaran, is dead, the Sri Lankan military has said.
The announcement came shortly after the military said it had surrounded Prabhakaran and about 200 rebels in a tiny patch of jungle in the north-east. The announcement on state television came shortly after the military said it had surrounded Prabhakaran in a tiny patch of jungle in the north-east.
The claim cannot be verified as reporters are barred from the war zone.The claim cannot be verified as reporters are barred from the war zone.
The head of the Sri Lankan army Lt Gen Sarath Fonseka said the military had defeated the rebels and "liberated the entire country".
"Today we finished the work handed to us by the president to liberate the country from the LTTE (Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam)," he said in the broadcast.
Sri Lankan forces had routed the rebels in the past few weeks, over-running their territory and bringing the 26-year war to its conclusion.Sri Lankan forces had routed the rebels in the past few weeks, over-running their territory and bringing the 26-year war to its conclusion.
The broadcast said Prabhakaran was killed along with two of his deputies. The broadcast quoted military officials as saying Prabhakaran was killed along with two of his deputies.
VELUPILLAI PRABHAKARAN Born November, 19541972: Founded Tamil New Tigers (TNT), forerunner of LTTEWanted in Sri Lanka and India Profile: Velupillai Prabhakaran Protest over UK role in Sri Lanka VELUPILLAI PRABHAKARAN Born November, 19541972: Founded Tamil New Tigers (TNT), forerunner of LTTEWanted in Sri Lanka and India Profile: Velupillai Prabhakaran Protest over UK role in Sri Lanka class="" href="/1/hi/world/south_asia/8039621.stm">Tamils hunt for news of relatives
Unconfirmed reports say the three were shot dead in an ambush while trying to escape the fighting in an ambulance. It said they were shot dead in an ambush while trying to escape the war zone in an ambulance.
State television broke into special programming in which military spokesman Brig Udaya Nanayakkara confirmed Prabhakaran's death. Military spokesman Brig Udaya Nanayakkara confirmed Prabhakaran's death, saying 250 Tamil Tigers were also killed overnight.
He said 250 Tamil Tigers were killed overnight and that all territory was now in the hands of the Sri Lankan army. In the past few days, the LTTE had been penned into a 1.5 square kilometre (0.6 sq mile) area.
In the past few days, the Tigers (LTTE) had been penned into a 1.5 square kilometre (0.6 sq mile) area.
The Tigers had been fighting for a separate state for Tamils in the north and east of Sri Lanka since the 1970s.The Tigers had been fighting for a separate state for Tamils in the north and east of Sri Lanka since the 1970s.
More than 70,000 people have been killed in the conflict and thousands displaced.More than 70,000 people have been killed in the conflict and thousands displaced.