LTTE leader Prabhakaran killed

LTTE Chief, Velupillai Prabhakaran

According to the military, the Tigers tried to evacuate its leaders early this morning in two vehicles. Army special soldiers of 53 Division have intercepted the vehicles moving north and destroyed the convoy after fierce fighting.

May 18, Colombo: The LTTE leader Velupillai Prabhakaran was shot dead on Monday while trying to flee in an ambulance, news reports said.

Citing a senior defence official news agencies said Prabhakaran was trying to drive out of the battle zone in a an ambulance along with a few aides.

"He was killed with two others inside the vehicle. There will be a formal announcement later," the official was quoted. According to the source the vehicle has caught fire upon firing by the troops.

According to the military, the Tigers tried to evacuate its leaders early this morning in two vehicles. Army special soldiers of 53 Division have intercepted the vehicles moving north and destroyed the convoy after fierce fighting.

The military said it had found 150 bodies of LTTE cadres so far and they are in the process of identifying them.

Among the identified were, Charles Anthony, the eldest son of LTTE chief, B. Nadesan, LTTE's political head, S. Pulidevan , LTTE's head of peace secretariat, S. Ramesh, A special military leader, Kapil Amman, LTTE's deputy intelligence leader, Sudarman , the aide to Prabhakarn's son, Rathnam Master , a Black Tiger leader and Ilango, another senior LTTE leader.