The Sri Lankan military says six soldiers have been killed and another one wounded by a land mine explosion in the country's volatile north.
The military says the blast, blamed on Tamil Tiger rebels, hit the soldiers Sunday as they were transporting meals to their colleagues in Jaffna, some 400 kilometers north of Colombo.
The attack prompted Scandinavian monitors overseeing Sri Lanka's truce with Tamil Tiger rebels to warn of "irreparable deterioration" of security in the island nation.
The monitoring mission appealed to all sides to calm the situation before it escalates further.
Tension has been mounting in Sri Lanka since Tamil Tiger leader V. Prabhakaran warned that the rebels will intensify their struggle for a Tamil homeland next year if grievances with the government are not resolved.
Some information for this report provided by AP, AFP and Reuters.
