Five Sri Lanka soldiers 'injured'

The Sri Lankan military says three soldiers were wounded when Tamil Tiger rebels fired mortars at its camp in the eastern Batticaloa district.

Defence ministry spokesman, Brigadier Prasad Samarasinghe said the soldiers fired back at the rebels.

He said two more soldiers were injured in a mine explosion in Jaffna.

Both sides are supposed to be observing a ceasefire, but the agreement is in tatters as more than 3,500 people were killed in fighting last year.

Brigadier Samarasinghe said rebels fired mortar rounds at the Vavunativu military camp on Wednesday night.

"We fired back and the rebels retreated, but we don't know if they suffered any casualties," he said.

The defence spokesman said in another incident two soldiers were injured when a claymore mine exploded in Jaffna on Thursday morning.

"The soldiers inspect the road every morning for any mines and it was during the inspection that a claymore mine exploded," he said.