Former Tamil Tiger rebel killed in Sri Lanka

COLOMBO: A former Tamil Tiger rebel has been killed in Sri Lanka's Northern Province by an unidentified person but police today said the murder was a result of personal grudge.

Krishnasami Naguleswaran, 40, was shot dead in front of his house in Mannar on Wednesday night.

The former cadre of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) had undergone the Sri Lankan government's rehabilitation programme. Police claimed to have recovered the gun used in the murder of Naguleswaran, who worked as as a brick-maker.

"We have found the T56 weapon used for the murder. We suspect it was due to a private grudge", said acting police spokesman Ruwan Gunasekera.

The pro-government Snhala newspaper The Divaina reported the deceased was a member of the LTTE who had taken part in many attacks against government troops.

Sri Lanka government troops and the LTTE were locked in a nearly-three decade bloody war that ended in 2009 with the defeat of the Tamil Tigers following the death of its chief Velupillai Prabhakaran.