Sri Lanka’s successful manhunt for the new head of the Tamil Tigers began with the phone of the dead man he succeeded, Vellupillai Prabhakaran.

For die-hard followers, the commander who led a terror-driven Tamil insurrection in Sri Lanka still lives, despite evidence to the contrary.

As Sri Lanka declared victory in one of the world’s most intractable wars, the EU and US urged its government to reach out to its Tamil population.

Sri Lanka’s navy forced a fleeing Tamil Tiger plane to turn back in barrages of anti-aircraft fire, military sources said on Wednesday.