Suicide attack sinks Sri Lankan navy gunboat, 15 sailors killed

Suspected Tamil rebels blew up a naval gunboat Saturday killing 15 Sri Lankan sailors in a suicide attack that caused the biggest military loss of life since a truce began four years ago, the defence ministry said.











Suspected Tamil rebels blew up a naval gunboat Saturday killing 15 Sri Lankan sailors in a suicide attack that caused the biggest military loss of life since a truce began four years ago, the defence ministry said. The pre-dawn attack came as the United States expressed concern over the recent escalation of violence that has stoked fears of a return to civil war in the Indian Ocean island nation torn by ethnic conflict.

"The boat exploded and we believe it is an LTTE (Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam) suicide attack," defence ministry spokesman Prasad Samarasinghe said.

An explosives-packed fishing boat was believed to have rammed the Israeli-built Dvora-class gunboat which was on a routine patrol outside Trincomalee harbour, 260 kilometres (160 miles) northeast of here, he said.

"There were two gunboats in the area and one saw the other being attacked," Samarasinghe said.

The strike which killed 15 sailors including two officers inflicted the biggest single military loss of life s