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11 killed, 11 wounded in mine attack in Sri Lanka
A mine exploded on Tuesday near a bus carrying sailors in northeast Sri Lanka, killing 11 military personnel and injuring 11 other people, including two British tourists, officials said.
A mine exploded on Tuesday near a bus carrying sailors in northeast Sri Lanka, killing 11 military personnel and injuring 11 other people, including two British tourists, officials said.
The military blamed the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam for the Claymore mine attack in Trincomalee, about 230 kilometers northeast of the capital, Colombo.
Ten sailors and a bus driver died immediately in the attack, said military spokesman Brig. Prasad Samarasinghe, correcting an earlier statement that 12 had died. He said nine other military personnel were hurt in the blast.
A van carrying three British tourists was also hit and at least two of them were injured, Samarasinghe said.
The British High Commission confirmed that two Britons were injured in the attack, but declined to immediately release further information.
The Tamil Tiger rebels are known for using Claymore mines, which fire hundreds of steel balls propelled by plastic explosives and can be detonated by remote control.
Samarasinghe blamed the LTTE for Tuesday's attack. "Surely it is their work, who else?" he said. There was no immediate comment from the rebels. The General Hospital in nearby Anuradhapura town, admitted a Briton named Gillian Williamson, 57, for treatment, according to a hospital worker who answered the phone. He said Williamson's injuries were not life threatening, before ringing off without providing details.
