Tamil Tiger rebels have attacked police special task force (STF) personnel in eastern Sri Lanka but caused no casualties, defense officials said Sunday.

The Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) rebels fired artillery and mortar fire at the STF at Kaluwanchikudy in the eastern Batticaloa district at around 8:00 p.m. local time Saturday (1430 GMT).

The STF who retaliated against the rebel fire suffered no casualties in the attack, officials said.

Officials also said that the government troops had recovered a claymore mine targeting them at Vinayagapuram area in the eastern Ampara district Saturday night.

Regular clashes between the government troops and the rebels in the east have hampered the Norwegian backed peace process aimed at ending over two-decade-old ethnic separatist armed conflict.

The 2002 ceasefire is valid only on paper as large scale violence blamed on both sides overshadowed the process of negotiations.

The last round of face to face talks held in Geneva, Switzerland, at the end of October produced no positive outcome as the rebels opted to stay out of talks until the government took action to open the main A9 highway between the northern Jaffna peninsula and the south of the island.

The violence since December 2005 has accounted for deaths of over 3,500 people including rebels, troops and a high proportion of civilians.

Source: Xinhua