Rarely in the contemporary world has a domestic insurgency been as decisively crushed by military means as the Tamil Tiger rebels of Sri Lanka have been -- and arguably not in recent times has a reversal of fortunes been so dramatic. During a war that raged more than a quarter century, the Tigers, who claimed to represent a minority that makes up about a fifth of Sri Lanka's population, grew to control more than a third of the country and operated their own government, legal system, navy and air force. But yesterday, their last sanctuary was wiped out by a government offensive that also appears to have killed most of their top leaders, including notorious chief Velupillai Prabhakaran.