COLOMBO The government military on Wednesday denied LTTE allegations that the Sri Lankan Army deep penetration unit attacked a civilian school bus in rebel controlled territory in northern Madhu killing twenty persons.

“We categorically deny the claim as there are no military teams operating in those areas,` military Spokesman Brigadier Udaya Nanayakkara said.

The Tamil Tiger rebels in a statement on the pro rebel website Tamil Net said twenty civilians, including 11 school children, a teacher of the Thadcha`naamaruthamadu Roman Catholic Tamil School, the driver, conductor and two hospital workers were killed and 14 wounded in the bomb blast on Tuesday afternoon.

“The bus was one kilometre away from Madu church, after having picked up the children at Thadcha`naamaruthamadu and was on its way to Paalampiddi. Eight school children were among the wounded”, the Tamil Net website said displaying the dead bodies of blood splattered young school children purportedly killed in the attack.

Government defence spokesperson Keheliye Rambukwella when contacted dismissed the LTTE`s allegation as `yet another attempt to tarnish the image of the military.`

“The war is with the LTTE terrorists. Not with Tamil civilians. We have repeatedly stressed that we will never attack civilian living in rebel held territory,” Rambukwella maintained.

Rights activists in Colombo said they want clarification on the issue.

“A claim like this is disturbing,” Tamil Human Rights Activist, Saroja Sivachandran said. The rebels have provided names and details of those allegedly killed and injured in the attack.

The LTTE said a forty six year old school principal, S M G Lambert, was one of the 12 critically wounded persons. “He was one of the seven severely injured patients who were later transferred to the Killinochchi hospital. Two of them succumbed to their injuries on the way. Dead bodies of the two victims were handed over to Akkaraayan hospital,” the LTTE statement said.

The rebels also said a Catholic nun identified as Sister Ranjani was among the wounded and quoted a Catholic priest, Reverend Father Emilianus Pillai, from the Madu Roman Catholic Church as saying that tension prevailed at the attack site.

The LTTE claims that government troops started firing artillery shells towards the Madhu area after the explosion. The death toll for the past week has risen to hundred, most of them Tiger guerillas according to military sources.

As fighting continues in most areas in the north, reports say heavy tension prevails in the Jaffna district after the rebels attacked the military airport in Palali, Jaffna on Monday, targeting a plane carrying Defence Secretary Gotabhaya Rajapakse and other top military officials. The military has confirmed that no one was injured in the attack but said the heavy fighting that broke out in the area soon after continues.

Meanwhile officials say the latest development on the war front has led to the temporary suspension of civilian flights to Jaffna.

Analysts say the war could soon shift to the Jaffna peninsula which is controlled by government troops. They point out that the army, at whatever cost, would want to keep control of Jaffna as much as the Tiger rebels would want to retake the peninsula. However, military strategists point out that retaking Jaffna which is highly fortified with government troops would be a difficult task for the Tamil Tigers who after being ousted from the eastern region last year are weakened militarily.