COLOMBO, Feb 17: One civilian bystander was killed and five soldiers injured when suspected Tamil Tiger rebels triggered a claymore mine on a military convoy in the northern Jaffna peninsula on Saturday afternoon, military sources said.

The pro-rebel website Tamil Net claimed that two soldiers were killed in the attack but no confirmation was available from the army headquarters on the number of military casualties.

The explosion took place along the A9 highway that connects the north with the rest of the country, sources said.

The attack comes a day after the Air Force carried out intense aerial attacks on selected Tamil Tiger rebel targets in the north, fully destroying rebel mortar positions.