New Delhi: LTTE rebels have attacked a Lankan naval base off the army-held northern Jaffna peninsula killing several sailors while a rebel roadside bomb targeted an army bus near Colombo port.
Through, LTTE claimed they killed 35 sailors during the predawn raid, the military dismissed it as propaganda, saying less than 10 sailors died in the attack.
Military sources on the other hand claimed that 18 LTTE men were killed in the counter attack.
The Sri Lankan military confirmed the attack saying, LTTE used about 15 boats, including three so-called "suicide boats".
Hours later in the Lankan capital Colombo, a bomb exploded near a bus carrying soldiers.
Four soldiers and three civilians were wounded, as the bomb, attached to a motorcycle parked in a crowded shopping area near the port, exploded as the bus went past.
The attacks come one day after the International Committee of the Red Cross announced it had withdrawn its staff from two checkpoints between government-held and rebel areas in northern Sri Lanka because of the escalating violence.