S Lanka rebels kill 12 sailors, wound 8 -navy

COLOMBO, Apr 11 (Reuters) Suspected Sri Lankan Tamil Tiger rebels today killed 12 sailors and wounded eight today in a fragmentation mine attack on a vehicle carrying naval troops going on leave, the navy said.

''There are 12 dead and eight injured,'' navy spokesman Commander D K P Dassanayake said, adding the attack took place near the northeastern port of Trincomalee. ''It was a claymore attack.'' The armed forces believed it was conducted by the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), he said, who are also accused of a similar attack in northern Sri Lanka yesterday that killed seven.

The government and rebels are due to meet next week for talks in Switzerland.

REUTERS SB RN1343