The Sri Lankan military says suspected Tamil Tiger rebels have launched a series of attacks against security forces in the eastern part of the country, killing four people and wounding at least 19 others.
Officials say the attacks occurred Thursday in the cities of Batticaloa and Trincomalee.
The attacks came shortly after the government in Colombo extended the state of emergency throughout the country for another month, despite protests by minority Tamil legislators.
Parliament has been extending the state of emergency by one month at a time since August, following the assassination of Foreign Minister Lakshman Kadirgamar.
The government accuses Tamil rebels of carrying out the killing. But they deny the charge.
Some information for this story provided by AP and AFP.
