LTTE attacks Lankan troops

Suspected Tamil Tiger rebels on Monday attacked troops in eastern Sri Lanka, injuring a soldier and increasing fears of escalation of violence in the embattled region, officials said. Gunmen attacked soldiers at Mankerni in Batticaloa district where there had been an increase in violence in recent weeks, officials said. They said the latest attack was in the same area where an officer and a soldier were shot and wounded on Saturday. The Defence Ministry has accused the Tigers of carrying out Saturday’s attack despite the Oslo-brokered truce in place since February 2002. Meanwhile, Sri Lanka acting Defence Minister Ratnasiri Wickremanayake visited Vavuniya and Mannar on Monday, officials said. They said he was visiting troops while President Chandrika Kumaratunga was in London on a private visit.