By IANS,
Colombo : Sri Lanka’s Tamil Tiger guerrillas said Tuesday that six civilians including two children were killed when a claymore mine exploded deep inside the rebel-held territory.
The Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) accused the “Deep Penetration Unit” of the Sri Lankan military for the Monday evening attack in the Wanni region.
The LTTE Peace Secretariat said in an email statement from Wanni that the blast occurred on the Oddusuddan Road in Mankulam at 8.00 p.m. Monday. It also wounded four people including three children.
“The people killed and injured in the attack are from three families and they were on their way to the temple in Puthoor in a grey colour old Morris Minor car,” the LTTE said, adding that the injured were admitted to a hospital in the rebel-held Mullaithivu area.
Sri Lanka’s military spokesman, Brigadier Udaya Nanayakkara, rejected the allegations, saying “the incident has reportedly taken place well inside the LTTE-held areas where the military does not operate.
“The LTTE is blindly pointing the finger at the military for the blast without any basis. Their aim is to tarnish the image of the army which is pressing ahead with its operations against the LTTE in the north,” Brig Nanayakkara said.