Mine blasts kill four police, injure three troops

As Norway launched yet another attempt to strengthen the ceasefire between goverment and Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam, two mine blasts were triggered by suspected Tigers in eastern Sri Lanka killing three policemen and injuring three soldiers in seperate incidents.

Four police personnel were killed in the eastern town of Kathankudy in  Batticaloa district while three soldiers were injured at Chettikulam in Vavuniya district today in two mine blasts, the military said.

The attacks came a day after Norwegian negotiator Jon Hanssen-Bauer arrived here to hold talks with the LTTE in an attempt to make it adhere to the ceasefire. He will travel to the rebel-held town of Kilinochchi at the weekend to meet with the political wing leaders of the LTTE.

Norway's peace envoy Erik Solheim, who is due here tomorrow for talks with President Mahinda Rajapakse, cautioned against "high expectations" from his latest mission.

"The situation in Sri Lanka is complicated. "It is important not to have unrealistic expectations of the meetings," Solheim said in a statement.

Solheim said the visits were an important part of preparations for a meeting in Tokyo next week of Sri Lanka's key international financial backers who are to review their support of a faltering peace process.

Solheim will travel to New Delhi after his talks with Rajapakse to brief Indian leadership on his latest efforts.