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Sri Lanka

Explosion kills 4 civilians in northern Sri Lanka

At least four civilians were killed and six others were injured in a claymore mine explosion carried out by suspected Tamil Tigers in northern Sri Lanka on Thursday, according to defense officials.

Officials from Media Center for National Security said four civilians including a 10-year-old child were killed when a van transporting them was caught in a claymore mine explosion triggered by the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) in Vavuniya around 02:00 p.m. local time (0830 GMT).

The van was plying on the Vavuniya-Mannar road when it was caught in the claymore mine explosion, the officials said, adding that the claymore mine had been set on a bicycle.

Among the injured were a police constable and five other civilians, who had been rushed to the Vavuniya hospital for medical care.

Clashes between government troops and the LTTE in Vavuniya and other northern districts have been escalating since mid-July when the government said the Eastern Province was free of rebels.

Claiming discrimination at the hands of the Sinhala majority, the LTTE has been fighting the government since the mid-1980s to establish a separate homeland for the minority Tamils in the north and east.

More than 5,000 people have been killed in the new wave of violence since the end of 2005.