Four military men killed in Batticaloa

A Tamil guerrilla suicide bomber blew himself up in eastern Sri Lanka killing four military intelligence men and injuring at least 10 others as rebels stepped up their attacks on the security forces and police in the northern and eastern parts of the country.

The suicide bomber who had entered the town area after mingling with the civilians blew himself up in the heart of Batticaloa town, over 300 kilometres east of the capital, yesterday morning causing death and destruction.

Four army personnel attached to the intelligence unit of the army the Batticaloa area were killed. They were identified as four members of a Tamil militant group who were now helping the military gather intelligence reports regarding activities of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE).

The suicide bomber is said to have also handed over a bomb containing powerful explosives to a driver of a three-wheeler before the blast took place. The probable intention had been to trigger off the second bomb, if the first mission failed.

The driver of the three-wheeler was apprehended with the bomb in a search operation which was carried out in the area soon after the suicide bomb attack. The driver has claimed innocence, but the police and military conducting the search operation do not rule out the possibility that the man was involved in it or at least knew the bomber.

Four women were among nine civilians injured in the blast which caused panic and pandemonium in the Batticaloa town which is considered a high security zone. All persons entering the town are screened.

Military officials said that a search operation was in progress in the town until late evening. The incident came amidst more killings of security and police personnel in the north and eastern parts of the country.

Few hours before the suicide bomber blew himself up, guerrillas attacked a route clearing patrol in the north eastern part of the country killing two more solders. Guerrillas hiding beside a main road generally used by the public confronted the route clearing patrol at Somapura, between the Panselgodella and Meegasgodella areas of the Trincomalee district, 230 kilometres north east of the capital.

Military reinforcements were rushed into the area. On the previous day a parcel bomb explosion claimed the lives of two policemen and a paramilitary guard in the Kalmunai area. A passenger in a three-wheeler had left a small parcel to be later handed over to a policeman in the Kalmunai police exploded, killing the two policemen and injuring one home guard.

The explosion took place minutes after the parcel was handed over. Tamil guerrillas also fired small arms and threw hand grenades at a guard point manned by Air Force personnel in the Poovarasankulam area of the Vavuniya district killing two Air Force personnel.