Ltte Is Defeated?

The body of the leader of Sri Lanka's Tamil Tiger separatists has been found in an ambulance destroyed by troops as it sped out of the war zone, military sources have said.

The news came hours after the military said it had found the bodies of four Tamil Tigers, including that of the son of Velupillai Prabhakaran, the leader of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE).

A military source speaking on condition of anonymity said on Monday: "It was confirmed Prabhakaran was killed when trying to flee in an ambulance before dawn. We are waiting for the official announcement by the president."

Four other sources confirmed the account, but there was no immediate official comment from the army.

State TV broadcast images of the corpse of 24-year-old Charles Anthony, Prabhakaran's son and heir apparent, on Monday.

The senior LTTE officials found dead include Balasingham Nadesan, the head of the political wing, Seevaratnam Puleedevan, and S Ramesh, the separatists' eastern leader, Brigadier Udaya Nanayakkara, a military spokesman, said.

There has been no comment from the LTTE on the latest claims.

Al Jazeera's Tony Birtley said: "The conventional guerilla fighting forces of the Tamil Tigers is probably now finished, what happens now is the big question

well thats is the defeat of the world most powerfull guerilla force or not??