Ten killed in fresh Sri Lanka violence

A landmine detonated by Tamil Tigers killed three police commandos in eastern Sri Lanka on Sunday.

A landmine detonated by Tamil Tigers killed three police commandos in eastern Sri Lanka on Sunday while seven suspected rebels died elsewhere in the embattled region, military officials said.

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The Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) attack blew up a police Special Task Force vehicle in Batticaloa district also wounding three officers.

Security forces shot five rebels in the north of the island early Sunday while two more were killed in Batticaloa, said the military.

The renewed violence came after the Sri Lankan navy said it killed at least a dozen Tiger rebels in a battle off the northeast coast on Friday night.

The LTTE has waged a 35-year campaign for independence that has claimed more than 60,000 lives.

More than 4,800 people have been killed in the latest upsurge of fighting that began in December 2005.