Sri Lanka's Tamil Tiger rebels killed four troops in two bomb attacks in the island's north, the military said today.
A military spokesman said three soldiers were killed when an improvised explosive device blew up at a railway station in the northern district of Vavuniya, while one soldier was killed in a mine blast on the Jaffna peninsula further north.
About 3,000 troops, civilians and rebel fighters have been killed this year amid the worst fighting since a now tattered 2002 ceasefire.
Many Sri Lankans now fear the conflict could return to the full-blown war that has killed more than 67,000 people since 1983.