At least ten Sri Lankan soldiers were killed and fifteen, including eight civilians were wounded, when a bus they were travelling in was hit by a powerful claymore mine blast triggered by suspected Tamil Tiger rebels on Tuesday in Vavuniya.
“The bus was carrying unarmed army personnel on leave, when it came under the mine blast at Cheddikulam on the Mannar-Madawachchiya road around 12.55 pm,” the Defence Ministry said.
“According to the defence sources, the claymore was fixed to a bicycle, which had been parked close to a vehicle owned by an NGO,” it said.
In a separate incident in the Vavuniya district, the LTTE has carried out a pre-dawn attack on a sentry on Tuesday, killing four police homeguards.
The police have called for heightened public vigilance claiming that the recent intelligence reports have revealed that the Tamil Tigers have already despatched two explosive-laden vehicles to Colombo aiming to cause destruction in the South.
