Lanka orders probe into 145;execution-style146; deaths

Sri Lanka on Wednesday ordered a probe into the deaths of five youths the military said were killed when a grenade they were carrying explod...

Sri Lanka on Wednesday ordered a probe into the deaths of five youths the military said were killed when a grenade they were carrying exploded, after truce monitors found they had been shot in the head execution-style.

The incident late on Monday followed a rash of deadly attacks by suspected Tamil Tiger rebels on the military and analysts said it bore the hallmarks of retaliation.

Shopkeepers closed their stores in the restive eastern district of Trincomalee on Wednesday to protest against the killings, which Tamil Tiger rebels blame on the military.

8216;8216;Certain bodies were found with gunshot injuries, therefore the Defence Ministry has decided to hold a full-scale inquiry into the matter just to find out what had exactly happened,8217;8217; said military spokesman Brig. Prasad Samarasinghe adding, 8216;8216;There was no involvement of the security personnel in the incident.8217;

But analysts said the fact that President Mahinda Rajapakse called for the probe suggested he was keen to distance the government from any military abuses.

A series of mine attacks against the military by suspected Tigers killed 39 armed forces personnel in December, and truce monitors have warned the island could slide back into a two-decade war.

8216;8216;First reports from the Army only mentioned a hand-grenade explosion, but our monitors found while in the hospital that they had been shot behind the ears, execution style,8217;8217; said Helen Olafsdottir, spokeswoman for the Nordic Sri Lanka Monitoring Mission which oversees the truce.

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Analysts rubbish the Tigers8217; denials of involvement in the rash of attacks, and say it is vital the military come clean about any abuses.

The rebels have also accused the Army of killing one of their senior political cadres on Tuesday. The rebels say 8216;Major8217; Jeyananthan, head of their Vavuniya West political wing in the island8217;s northwest, was riding a motorbike when a mine exploded.