Colombo - DNA tests carried out on the bodies believed to be of Tamil rebel leader Velupillai Prabhakaran and his son have matched, a military spokesman said Thursday.

Army medical experts carried out the tests on the bodies of the two men killed last week in north-eastern Sri Lanka, Brigadier Udaya Nanayakkara said.

They died as the government wrapped up its military offensive against the separatist Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) and announced it had defeated the guerillas after a more than 25-year conflict.

The tests were carried out amid claims of the rebel leader's death and counterclaims of his continuing existence.

However, the LTTE's international affairs spokesman, Selvarasa Pathmanathan, confirmed Prabhakaran's death after his body was found by the army on May 18.

It was not clear whether the army would invite an independent group to carry out further DNA tests.

The bodies believed to be of Prabhkaran and his son Charles Anthony have been cremated, but the government said samples had been retained for testing.

In a related development, Prabhkaran's parents were located in a refugee camp Thursday in northern Sri Lanka. They had escaped along with civilians during the final days of fighting between the government and LTTE, which had been struggling for an independent homeland for minority Tamils. (dpa)