10 killed in fresh Sri Lanka violence

COLOMBO, May 6, 2007 (AFP) - A landmine detonated by Tamil Tigers killed three police commandos in eastern Sri Lanka on Sunday while seven suspected rebels died elsewhere in the embattled region, the defence ministry said.





The Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) attack blew up a police Special Task Force vehicle in Batticaloa district killing three officers and wounding three more, the ministry said in a statement.

Security forces shot five rebels in the north of the island early Sunday while two more were killed in Batticaloa, the statement said.

It said the guerrillas fired mortars across their front line in Vavuniya, in the north of the island Sunday, injuring several soldiers.

Security forces retaliated, but there were no immediate reports of rebel casualties.

There was also no word from the Tigers about the latest reports of fighting.

The renewed violence came after the Sri Lankan navy said it killed at least a dozen rebels in a battle off the northeast coast on Friday night.

The LTTE has waged a 35-year campaign for independence that has claimed more than 60,000 lives.

More than 4,800 people have been killed in the latest upsurge of fighting that began in December 2005.