Land mine kills 17 Sri Lankan soldiers

A powerful Tamil rebel land mine blew up a bus carrying soldiers on home leave in northeastern Sri Lanka today, killing 17 and wounding 19.

Army spokesman Brigadier Sanath Karunaratne said seven of the wounded were in serious condition in Trincomalee, 140 miles northeast of Colombo.

The land mine was connected to a wire that was used by the separatist guerrillas to trigger the blast.

A total of 40 soldiers were in the bus going home after yearlong duty in the north where most of Sri Lanka’s 17 year civil war is being fought.

The driver escaped with minor injuries.

‘‘It was a big land mine, and I am afraid that many of the wounded had their limbs dismembered,’’ Karunaratne said.

Karunaratne blamed the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam rebels for planting the land mine. The area is under the military control, but the rebels often infiltrate from its jungles and attack government forces.