A look at Prabhakaran's top Lieutenants

New Delhi: Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) Chief Prabhakaran ran a parallel government with his own armed forces and institutions, an island within an island. Most of the men who aided him to do so are now dead.

The senior ranks of the Tigers have suffered heavy losses since January 2009. In the end as the Sri Lankan army closed in on the LTTE's last redoubt in Mullaitivu, there were only a few left to fight and die alongside Prabhakaran.

Among them was his eldest son Charles Anthony - Head of the Air Wing of the rebels. Charles was apparently being groomed by Prabhakaran to succeed him as head of the LTTE.

LTTE Intelligence Chief Pottu Amman is the man credited with conceiving and planning some of the most high profile assassinations carried out by the terror group including that of Rajiv Gandhi. Until his death he was on India's most wanted list.

Soosai, the Sea Tigers Chief waged a deadly and highly effective war at sea against the Sri Lankans. He even pioneered suicide attacks at sea, ramming speedboats packed with explosives into Sri Lankan naval craft.

Head of the Political Wing Balasingham Nadesan had rejected Colombo's appeal to surrender. However, in a message reportedly broadcastes minutes before he was killed, said the rebel group was ready to meet the demands of the international community.

S Pulidevan, Head of LTTE's Peace Secretariat, was a mysterious figure who was accused by his own group of helping the Sri Lankans kill their Political Chief Tamilselvan in an air strike. He was arrested and interrogated, but appears to have rehabilitated himself before being killed by the army.

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