Liberation of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) chief Velupillai Prabhakaran has reportedly been shot dead along with his son Charles Antony and other Tiger commanders.
Unofficial reports stated that Prabhakaran was ambushed and shot dead while trying to flee Special Forces who closed in on the last rebel fortification.
A Sri Lankan military spokesman said that there has been no identification of Prabhakaran as yet.
There were reports that only DNA verification would confirm Prabhakaran's death, as he was known to move around with two doubles. Earlier in the day, the Sri Lankan Army had claimed that Prabhakaran was alive and surrounded by government troops.
On Sunday, four senior rebel leaders were killed in fighting, the army said.
They included the head of the Tigers" political wing, Balasingham Nadesan, the head of rebels" peace secretariat Seevaratnam Puleedevan, and a military leader known as Ramesh.
The latest claims cannot be verified as reporters are barred from the war zone.
If confirmed, Prabhakaran's death could signal the end of the nearly three decade-long civil-ethnic war that cost the island nation the lives of thousands of innocent civilians.
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