DNA tests on body of Prabhakaran, Sri Lankan rebel leader

The body of the leader of Sri Lanka’s Tamil Tiger rebels, Velupillai Prabhakaran, is to undergo DNA and forensic tests along with the corpses of other top rebels, officials said today.

Prabhakaran was killed this morning along with two of his deputies after a two-hour firefight when they tried to break to freedom through advancing government troops, defence officials said. His body was badly burnt when his armour-plated van was hit by a rocket and burst into flames.

State television broke into its regular programming to announce Prabhakaran’s death, and the government information department sent a text message to cell phones across the country confirming that he was dead.

The announcement prompted mass celebrations around the country, and people poured into the streets of Colombo dancing and singing.

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