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Sri Lankan Tamil Rebels Attack Checkpoint, Four Killed
Sri Lankan separatist Tamil Tiger rebels attacked a checkpoint in the east of the country on Friday, killing a soldier and three civilians, military officials said.
The Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LLTE) rebels opened fire in the Mahindapura area of the Trincomalee district, about 240 kilometers east of the capital Colombo when soldiers and policemen there were checking passengers of a civilian bus, they said.
Military spokesman Sanath Karunaratne said that the soldiers did not return fire for fear of causing civilian casualties. Three more civilians were injured in the attack, he added.
The LTTE rebels have been fighting since 1983 for a separate state for minority Tamils in the country's north and east. More than 64,000 people have been killed in the brutal war.
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