Two days, two theories; how did Prabhakaran die?

New Delhi: LTTE chief Prabhakaran appears to have been killed, putting an end to a long and bloody offensive by the army.

But even as pictures of the Prabhakaran's corpse flashed on screens across the world, some questions remained unanswered, even by top army officials and Lankan diplomats.

For instance, how exactly was Prabhakaran killed and why was the body found in a no-fire zone, when the army claimed they had trapped him in a 300 square meter area?

How were they able to identify him so quickly, with a DNA test, no less?

Why would the most hunted man in Sri Lanka dress in army camouflage and carry his ID papers on him?

Was he alive when the military found him, or had the leader of the Tamil rebels killed himself before they got to him?

On Monday, the Sri Lankan Military confirmed that Prabhakaran was shot dead.

The news was also independently confirmed to CNN-IBN by the Sri Lankan Prime Minister Ratnasiri Wickramanayaka who said the LTTE chief was shot by the Sri Lankan special forces "before dawn and he was trying to flee in a convoy of a van and an ambulance".

On Tuesday, however, Sri Lankan military spokesperson Brigadier Udaya Nanayakkara, confirming that Prabhakaran was dead, said his body recovered by the army during a combing operation on Tuesday morning.

“It is confirmed that Prabhakaran is dead. We found his body among the 300 other bodies, his body was found this morning during the combing operation. There is no doubt that this is Veluupillai Prabhakarn's body. The Lanka army has killed the man responsible for one President's death and also Rajiv Gandhi's death and the killing of thousands of innocent people. Some LTTE cadres may mingle with civilians and enter India so high vigil is being maintained and we have to see what can be done,” he said.