Two soldiers were injured in Sri Lanka's northern city of Jaffna as the rebel Tamil Tigers detonated a claymore mine Thursday morning, said the military.

The Media Center for National Security said in a statement that a group of troops on a route clearing patrol were targeted by the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) around 7:15 a.m. (0145 GMT) in Jaffna.

The injured soldiers had been admitted to the nearby Pallali hospital and troops are conducting a search operation of the area, said the statement.

The military also said three soldiers were wounded Wednesday evening when the LTTE fired mortars at an Army camp in the eastern Batticaloa district. Troops retaliated but no LTTE casualties were reported.

Earlier on Wednesday, the military retaliated against an artillery and mortar attack of the LTTE in Batticaloa, killing 10 Tamil Tiger rebels and injuring 25 others.

Sri Lanka's Army Chief Sarath Fonseka said recently that the military was determined to liberate the east from the LTTE and later focus on the north.

Conflict between the government troops and the LTTE has been escalating since December 2005, with more than 3,800 people being killed.

The Norwegian backed peace process and the truce agreement signed between the two parties in 2002 are currently stalled as a result of the violence.

Source: Xinhua