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Landmine blast kills 10 in Sri Lanka

COLOMBO: At least nine soldiers and a civilian died when their truck ran over a landmine in war-ravaged northern Sri Lanka, military officials said on Sunday.

The military blamed Tamil Tiger rebels for Saturday's blast that also wounded 13 soldiers. The blast occurred near the northern government-held town of Vavuniya.

Officials said the army had been conducting a search-and-clear operation in the area and a convoy of trucks was returning to base when the landmine exploded.

They said troops had recovered a large amount of explosives, detonators, timing devices and other equipment hidden in bushes in the area during the search operation. A defence ministry spokesman told Reuters troops had also killed at least eight Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) rebels in separate clashes on Saturday in the northern Jaffna peninsula, a former rebel stronghold.

The spokesman said five guerrillas were killed in an ambush while the remaining three were shot dead by army snipers.

Defence officials said a suspected LTTE gunman also shot dead a local municipal official at Point Pedro town in the Jaffna peninsula on Friday. Vadivel Vijayaratnam, chairman of the Point Pedro urban council was shot seven times. Another employee of the council was also shot dead.

The LTTE has been fighting for a separate homeland for minority Tamils in Sri Lanka's north and east since 1983 in a campaign that has left more than 55,000 people dead.

The separatists have been blamed for several bomb blasts and assassinations in the country, including a failed attempt to kill President Chandrika Kumaratunga at an election rally last month.-Reuters