COLOMBO, May 27: At least eight persons were killed on Sunday, military sources said as violence continued in the northeast.

Troops shot dead three Tiger guerillas who tried to infiltrate into navy controlled territory in the eastern Trincomalee district, the military said while two unidentified bodies were found in the northern Vavuniya district.

Separately on Sunday night, three civilians were killed in the eastern Ampara district when a suspected LTTE claymore mine targeting a lorry exploded.

Meanwhile, the Tamil Tiger rebels said in a statement that 18 elite commandos of Sri Lankan Special Task Force (STF) were wounded when the STF launched an offensive into an eastern jungle area. The pro-LTTE website Tamil Net said the STF has been intensifying offensive operations into the LTTE controlled areas in the eastern jungle territory in recent weeks.

In the eastern Batticaloa district an LTTE suicide boat was recovered by troops from a lagoon in the Vakerai area, army officials said stating that troops recovered four claymore mines which were fixed to the boat.