Tamil Tiger rebels set off a land mine against a military vehicle in northern Sri Lanka Wednesday, killing two soldiers hours after a similar attack against a civilian bus elsewhere, officials said today.
Defence ministry spokesman Mr Sanath Karunaratne said two soldiers were killed and two more wounded in the mine attack carried out by the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) guerrillas near Omanthai.
The attack came hours after a similar powerful explosion blew up a bus in northeastern Sri Lanka today, wounding 15 passengers.
Members of the LTTE used a remote-controlled device to detonate the explosives planted along a main road when the privately owned bus passed, officials said.
"We believe it was a claymore mine attack that was triggered using a remotecontrolled device," Karunaratne said.
There was no immediate reaction from LTTE guerrillas to the explosions. Trincomalee was the scene of a similar attack against a navy bus on May 23 when 17 sailors were killed and many more wounded.
The latest attacks came a day after the LTTE overran a police station in the eastern district of Ampara, killing 15 constables and two civilian employees.
The Tigers are fighting for Tamil independence in the island's north and east. More than 60,000 people have been killed in the past three decades.
AFP