Suspected rebels abduct 4 people in Lanka

Assailants travelling in a van grabbed two 15-year-old students at Valaichchenai town in Batticaloa district on Monday.

Suspected Tamil Tiger rebels in eastern Sri Lanka abducted four people, including three teenagers, military officials said on Tuesday.

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Assailants travelling in a van grabbed two 15-year-old students in Valaichchenai town in Batticaloa district on Monday, military spokesman Brig Sudhir Samarasinghe said.

Later on Monday, two more people -- a 15-year-old student and a 25-year-old man -- were abducted in two separate incidents in Batticaloa town, he said.

All four of the victims were Tamils, and Tamil Tiger rebels were suspected in all three abductions, Samarasinghe said.

There was no independent confirmation of the report and the rebels could not immediately be reached for their comment.

Tamil Tigers have been known to target fellow Tamils suspected of cooperating with the government or being part of a faction of militants who broke away from the Tamil Tigers in 2004.