“We had information about a high-level gathering and it was after that the jets were sent to bomb the area,” a military source here said.

“Sri Lanka air force jet fighters targeted with air strikes Thiruvaiaru, south of Kilinochchi, a venue where LTTE leaders gathered today,” the defence ministry said in a statement before the LTTE announcement.

Later, the ministry said “pin-point” bombing took out Thamilselvan and five others. “The killing of Thamilselvan is a big blow to the LTTE politically,” said former Tamil militant turned political leader Dharmalingam Sithadthan. “It is also a big morale booster for the air force after their big loss last month.”

Tamil Tiger rebels staged a devastating attack against a key air base on October 22 and wiped out virtually the entire fleet of spy planes, inflicting the biggest single loss on the air force.

He had also been an active combatant who was injured while leading an offensive on an army camp in 1993 and survived a 2002 bomb attack said to have been carried out by Sri Lankan security forces.