Tigers attack Lankan army: 11 killed
The soldiers were ambushed with a Claymore mine at Puloly in the Jaffna peninsula, where 18 soldiers were killed in two similar attacks earlier this month, an official said by telephone.
"The soldiers were in a convoy transporting lunch for their colleagues when they were hit," the official said, adding that eight soldiers escaped with injuries.
For all latest news, follow The Daily Star's Google News channel. In the eastern district of Batticaloa, suspected rebels threw an explosive device at a police patrol, killing a constable and wounding two, a military official in the region said. "It was a claymore attack," said military spokesman Prasad Samarasinghe, referring to the claymore fragmentation mines used in the assault near the northern town of Point Pedro.
"Definitely the LTTE is behind this attack," he said, using the initials of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam. "No-one else is capable of doing this kind of claymore mine attack in Jaffna except the LTTE."
A military official said four other soldiers were admitted to hospital after the attack, some in critical condition.
On Friday 13 sailors were killed in an ambush by suspected Tiger rebels using claymore mines and rocket-propelled grenades in the island's northwest.
Meanwhile, Sri Lanka's President Mahinda Rajapakse arrived in India yesterday for a four-day visit, which he has said will aim to secure a greater role for India in the island's fragile peace process.
"They are our closest neighbour and it is very important for me to have them involved in the process," Rajapakse told reporters in Colombo ahead of the visit.
The trip is the first foreign visit by Rajapakse since he took office after winning the November 17 presidential election.
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