Jail break, blasts in Lanka ahead of truce talks

COLOMBO: Ahead of talks between Sri Lanka's warring parties in Oslo, two soldiers and a bus station guard were killed in separate attacks in the island, where eight prisoners including two suspected Tamil Tigers escaped from a high-security jail after verpowering the securitymen on Sunday.

The two soldiers were killed in separate claymore mine attacks in the district of Mannar and Jaffna where three soldiers were also wounded in bomb blasts on Saturday, the military said.

It said a civilian guard of a bus station was also shot dead by gunmen believed to be from the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) in the district of Batticaloa, but there
was no immediate comment from the rebels.

In another incident, eight inmates, including two suspected LTTE rebels, escaped from the Batticaloa prison this morning after overpowering their unarmed guards, a prison
official said, adding that an investigation was underway to find out how the men smuggled in a gun to the jail.

Batticaloa jail is known for frequent breakouts despite tight security for the facility located within the restive district.

The incidents came as the government and the Tamil Tiger rebels were preparing to field respective teams for talks in Oslo on Thursday on the fate of truce monitors.