The leader of Sri Lanka’s Tamil Tiger rebels, Velupillai Prabhakaran, has been killed, the military says.

It said Prabhakaran – along with two of his top commanders – had died while trying to flee from the last rebel-held patch of jungle in the north-east.

The military said it had crushed the Tamil Tigers’ 26-year insurgency, as people around the country celebrated.

No photos of Prabhakaran’s body have been released. The army says it is working to identify it among the dead.

The claims cannot be verified as reporters are barred from the war zone.