Sri Lanka says senior Tamil rebel has been killed. (Tamilenthi)

Sri Lanka says senior Tamil rebel has been killed

*

By KRISHAN FRANCIS, Associated Press Writer Krishan Francis, Associated Press Writer – Wed Mar 11, 1:24 pm ET
This image made from video shows an explosion in background, as Sri Lankan AP – This image made from video shows an explosion in background, as Sri Lankan Muslim men perform during …

* Sri Lanka Unrest Slideshow:Sri Lanka Unrest

COLOMBO, Sri Lanka – A senior Tamil Tiger rebel leader was killed Wednesday in a government attack on the insurgents' shrinking territory, the Sri Lankan military said.

Sabaratnam Selvathurai is the second major insurgent figure to be killed in 16 months. His death could be a boost for the government as it battles for the last rebel stronghold in the north and appears poised to defeat the group after more than 25 years of civil war.

The killing comes a day after a suicide bomber killed 14 people and critically wounded a government minister in the south. The military has blamed the assault on the rebels.

Military spokesman Brig. Udaya Nanayakkara said that troops on the front lines confirmed killing Selvathurai, whose nom de guerre was Thamilenthi, in battles in the last rebel-held town of Puthukkudiyiruppu.

Selvathurai was in charge of the Tamil Tigers' financial unit. Another major rebel leader, S.P. Tamilselvan, the head of the political wing head, was killed in a 2007 airstrike.

The rebels could not be reached for comment, and it was not possible to verify the report independently because reporters are barred from the war zone.

Media Minister Anura Yapa said earlier Wednesday that the government will put in new security measures across the country after Tuesday's suicide blast in the southern town of Akuressa showed that even regions far from the war zone in the north are vulnerable to terrorist attacks.

Akuressa is 100 miles (160 kilometers) south of Colombo.

"No one believed that this kind of attack could take place in a remote area like Akuressa," he said. "Definitely, police will implement new security measures to prevent these kinds of attacks."

He did not elaborate on what the new security measures would entail, saying that senior police officials would decide.

The suicide bomber targeted six Cabinet ministers as they led a religious procession Tuesday morning.

The attack killed 14 people and badly wounded Minister of Posts and Telecommunications Mahinda Wijesekara, who remained in serious condition Wednesday, according to Dr. Hector Weerasinghe, director of Colombo National Hospital.

Meanwhile, pro-rebel TamilNet Web site reported that the guerrillas infiltrated army-controlled territory Tuesday, killing 50 soldiers. The rebels' suicide squad and artillery unit took part in the mission close to Puthukkudiyiruppu, the report said.

Military spokesman Brig. Udaya Nanayakkara denied the report.

Human rights and aid groups have voiced concern over tens of thousands of ethnic Tamil civilians trapped in the shrinking sliver of land still under rebel control.

The Tamil Tigers have fought since 1983 for an independent state for the Tamil minority, which suffered decades of marginalization at the hands of governments dominated by the Sinhalese majority. More than 70,000 people have been killed.