Sri Lanka says rebel blasts kill four troops in north

COLOMBO, Nov 14 (Reuters) Sri Lanka's Tamil Tiger rebels killed four troops in two blasts in the island's north, the military said today.

A military spokesman said three soldiers were killed when an improvised explosive device blew up at a railway station in the northern district of Vavuniya, while one soldier was killed in a mine blast on the Jaffna peninsula further north.

The Tigers were not immediately available for comment.

About 3,000 troops, civilians and rebel fighters have been killed this year amid the worst fighting since a now tattered 2002 ceasefire, which many ordinary Sri Lankans fear could snowball into a return to a war that has killed more than 67,000 people since 1983.

REUTERS MS PM1552