COLOMBO: Sri Lanka declared today it had crushed the Tamil Tiger rebels, killing their chief, Velupillai Prabhakaran, and ending his three-decade quest for an independent homeland for minority Tamils.

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 he was killed along with top deputies, Soosai and Pottu Amman.

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

The death of Prabhakaran has been seen as crucial in bringing closure to this war-wracked Indian Ocean island nation. If he had escaped, he could have used his large international smuggling network and the support of Tamil expatriates to spark a new round of guerrilla warfare here. His death in battle could still turn him into a martyr for other Tamil separatists.

Sri Lanka’s army chief, Lt Gen Sareth Fonseka, said on television that his troops routed the last rebels from the northern war zone this morning and were working to identify Prabhakaran’s body from among the dead.

“We can announce very responsibly that we have liberated the whole country from terrorism,” he told state television. It was widely presumed Fonseka was waiting for President Mahinda Rajapaksa to announce Prabhakaran’s death.Fonseka and the commanders of the other security forces were scheduled to formally inform the president of the victory this evening.

Senior military officials said troops closed in on Prabhakaran and his final cadre early today.

He and his top deputies then drove an armour-plated van accompanied by a bus filled with rebel fighters toward approaching Sri Lankan forces, sparking a two-hour firefight, the officials said.