Seven persons, including three Air Force personnel, were killed and six others injured in a landmine blast triggered by suspected Tamil Tigers in Trincomalee in eastern Sri Lanka today.
The Claymore mine targeted a bus carrying civilians who were employed at an irrigation development project funded by the government in Morawewa area, officials said.
The Air Force personnel, who were providing escort, were also travelling in the vehicle when the blast took place. Two Air Force men and four civilians were injured.
Security forces were conducting search and clearing operations in the area.
Military spokesman Udaya Nanayakkara said the attack was carried out by the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam rebels.
An LTTE suicide bomber blew himself up outside the Sri Lankan Air Force headquarters in Colombo on January 2, killing at least two people and injuring over 30. That attack came shortly after troops captured the rebels’ de facto capital of Kilinochchi in the island’s restive north.
The next day, at least three persons were injured in a bomb explosion suspected to have been triggered by Tamil Tigers in a busy commercial area in the Sri Lankan capital.
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