Child and 3 soldiers killed in Jaffna blast

A seven-year-old child and a soldier were killed when the LTTE exploded a claymore mine on the roadside in Jaffna town last afternoon, a military spokesman said.

Three civilians and seven soldiers were injured in the explosion near the Chundikuli Girls’ school at Somasundram Road. The mine was fixed on a motorcycle parked along the main road and was triggered off by a remote control device as an army truck was passing by, the spokesman said.

Earlier in the morning another claymore mine, targeting an army truck and bowser was set off at Kurumankadu in Vavuniya, but the vehicles escaped.

The claymore mine was tied on to a coconut tree on the side of the main road. Ten persons were arrested in a search operation soon after the blast.