8 killed, 14 injured in Sri Lanka blast

COLOMBO: A mine explosion in a restive Sri Lankan province on Wednesday killed eight civilians and wounded 14, the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) said.   

The ICRC said that seven civilians were killed instantly and another died while being transported to the main district hospital in Batticaloa. The brief ICRC statement did not say who was responsible for the explosion, but Tamil Tiger rebels said the attack was carried out by government troops who had infiltrated an area held by the guerrillas.     

The rebel Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) said government troops attacked a vehicle transporting civilians to market.   

"This is the largest attack on a civilian vehicle in the Northeast since the ceasefire was signed and was clearly carried out by the Sri Lanka army in an LTTE area against civilians," the Tigers said in a statement.         

A government military official here denied any involvement in the attack. The latest violence came ahead a meeting between the government and the Tamil Tigers in Oslo on Thursday to discuss the safety of Scandinavians monitoring a truce that is close to collapse.