US condemns attack on Lankan military convoy

Washington, Oct 18: The United States has condemned the suicide attack against a Sri Lankan military convoy that killed more than 90 sailors and civilians, saying the attack resembles the tactics of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE).

State Department spokesman Sean McCormack, in a written statement, asked the LTTE to renounce the use of terror.

''Only through the cessation of violence, a renewed commitment to peace talks, and constructive engagement by both sides can a political solution to this conflict be achieved,'' he said.

According to media reports, in one of the deadliest insurgent attacks since the Sri Lankan government and the LTTE signed a cease-fire in 2002, an unidentified assailant rammed a truck loaded with explosives into the military convoy near Habarana, about 90 miles northeast of the capital Colombo on Monday.

The government and LTTE officials are scheduled to meet for peace talks in Geneva on October 28-29. It is not clear what effect the recent violence might have on the talks.

UNI

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