A bomb exploded in eastern Sri Lanka today killing at least 11 people, according to the military.
The bomb comes a day before the first local elections in the region in two decades.
The military blamed the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) for the blast which comes amid intensified fighting between the rebels and soldiers along the northern frontlines.
At least 29 people were wounded in the blast.
"There has been an explosion in Ampara town a little while ago," said military spokesman Brigadier Udaya Nanayakkara. "11 civilians were killed and 29 injured. It is definitely by the LTTE."
Security had been tightened for Saturday's polls in the districts of Trincomalee, Ampara and Batticaloa which are being held after the military pushed the rebels from vast swathes of territory last year they had held for decades.
The elections are also part of the government's blueprint for devolution in minority Tamil areas it hopes will go hand-in-hand with its push to win the war in which tens of thousands of people have died.