Police carry out mass arrests in Lanka after blast

Authorities questioned hundreds of people in the east of Sri Lanka following Wednesday's mine attack which left 11 people dead.

The Sri Lankan police carried out mass arrests in the island's east after a roadside bomb left 11 people dead, officials said as another blast in the country's north killed a soldier on Thursday.

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The latest Claymore mine attack was in the Vavuniya district where soldiers were on routine patrol duty, police said.

Meanwhile, Thursday's arrests were made in the east of the country where 58 people, including undergraduates and teachers, were detained after the authorities questioned hundreds of people following Wednesday's mine attack which left 11 people dead.

Sri Lanka has vowed to "crush" terrorism following weeks of fighting that officially left 45 soldiers and 331 Tigers killed at Vakarai -- the main Tiger bastion captured by government troops two weeks ago.

Over 4,000 people have been killed since December 2005 despite a truce that came into effect in February 2002.