Tamil Tigers regret Sri Lanka shelling

But the LTTE accused the government of risking the lives of diplomats by taking them to a war zone.

Sri Lanka's Tiger rebels on Tuesday expressed "deep regret" for an artillery attack that wounded three Western diplomats but accused the government of risking their lives by taking them to a war zone.

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The Tigers said the Sri Lankan government and the diplomats had failed to inform them that they would be flying in two military helicopters into an area where only the air force operated.

The shelling stopped after a UN official contacted the Tigers and said that diplomats were in the two helicopters, the Tigers said, blaming the government military for risking the lives of foreigners.