News agencies report this morning that that the longtime leader of the Tamil Tigers, Velupillai Prabhakaran, has been killed, quoting an announcement on Sri Lankan state television.
In the broadcast, the head of the Sri Lankan army, Lt. Gen Sarath Fonseka, said, "Today we finished the work handed to us by the president to liberate the country from the LTTE (Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam)," according to the BBC.
NPR reported that other top rebel leaders of the Tamil Tigers have also been killed, though news agencies noted that claims could not be confirmed because the region remains closed to journalists.
Velupillai Prabhakaran has been the head of the Tamil Tigers for more than 30 years. BBC ran an obituary of the rebel leader this morning.