Twelve Sri Lankan sailors killed in mine blast

Suspected Tamil Tiger rebels triggered two powerful land mines targeting a naval convoy in north-western Sri Lanka today, killing 12 sailors and injuring at least four others.

About 30 sailors were travelling in a bus and a truck toward their base in Mannar district, 135 miles north of the capital, Colombo when the explosion occurred, said navy spokesman Cmdr. Jayantha Perera.