The Liberation Tigers of Tamil Ealam (LTTE ), sometimes referred to as the Tamil Tigers, or simply the Tigers, was a separatist militant organization based in northern Sri Lanka. It was founded in May 1976 by Prabhakaran and waged a violent secessionist and nationalist campaign to create an independent state in the north and east of Sri Lanka for the Tamil people. This campaign evolved into the Sri Lankan Civil War. The Tigers were considered one of the most ruthless insurgent and terrorist organisations in the world. They were vanquished by the Sri Lankan armed forces in May 2009. In order to rehabilitate the 11,664 Tigers who had surrendered or been taken captive, Sri Lanka developed a multifaceted program to engage and transform the violent attitudes and behaviours of the Tiger leaders, members and collaborators. Since the end of the LTTE ’s three-decade campaign of insurgency and terrorism, there has not been a single act of terrorism in the country. Many attribute Sri Lanka’s post-conflict stability to the success of the insurgent and terrorist rehabilitation program.