Suspected Tamil Tiger rebels ambushed an army truck

COLOMBO, Nov 18: Suspected Tamil Tiger rebels ambushed an army truck in the northern Sri Lankan district of Vavuniya today, the military said, killing three soldiers and wounding 15 civilians.

''The truck was caught in a Claymore (fragmentation mine) blast,'' said military spokesman Brigadier Prasad Samarasinghe.

The Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) denied responsibility for the incident, which was the latest in a series of similiar attacks in recent months.

The incident came just hours after the navy said it sank three rebel boats in a clash off the northwest coast. The Tigers denied any of their boats sank, and said they sank two navy vessels.

Reuters