Two held after Sri Lanka shootout

Sri Lankan troops have arrested two suspected militants in the central province of Polonnaruwa.

The army says its intelligence operatives were attacked in the area and returned fire.

The suspects then fled from the scene but were later arrested with the help of local police.

An army spokesman, Brigadier Daya Ratnayake, said that the men are believed to be members of the Tamil Tiger rebels.

Killings

Brigadier Ratnayake said the army was in the process of informing international peace monitors about the shootout.

Last week the government accused Tamil Tiger rebels of breaking a ceasefire by killing an intelligence officer and an informant in the east of the island.

It said the killings cast doubt on the rebels' commitment to peace.

The ceasefire has largely remained intact since February 2002, even though the Tigers pulled out of negotiations in April last year, saying the government was not honouring pledges it had made for the north and east.

The Tigers have been fighting for more than two decades for self-government there.