LTTE chief Prabhakaran dead

LTTE Supremo Velupillai Prabhakaran, who led a ruthless movement for a Tamil Eelam in Sri Lanka that decimated a score of Sinhalese and Tamil leaders and former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi, was today killed by the army bringing curtains on the 30-year-old war that has claimed over 70,000 lives.Prabhakaran, 54, was shot dead by Sri Lankan special forces as he tried to stage a dramatic breakout from the army encirclement, a military spokesman said.The news of Prabhakaran's death also came along with reports of bodies of his son Charles Anthony and three other top leaders -- Pottu Amman, Soosai and Nadesan being found.Prabhakaran and his top aides were driving in an armour-plated van accompanied by a clutch of rebels in a bus and approaching the Special Forces. A two-hour exchange of fire followed and the forces fired a rocket at the van brining an end to the battle, army sources said.Prabhakaran's body was pulled out from the van and identified, they said. Prime Minister Ratnasri Wickramanayake said the army says they have killed him."The next step would be the development in the north (Tamil areas)," he said.Celebrations broke out in the capital here as news spread of the death of Prabhakaran, who led the longest armed struggle in South Asia for nothing less than a separate homeland for Tamils.
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