Blast kills Sri Lankan policeman

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One policeman has died and three others have been hurt in a grenade attack by suspected rebels in north-western Sri Lanka, the defence ministry says.

Tamil Tiger rebels targeted policemen who were guarding a church in Mannar district, just after midnight Mass on Monday, the military said.

The rebels have not yet commented on the incident.

Officially neither side has formally declared an end to a 2002 ceasefire, but unofficially they are now at war.

Talks in Geneva in October between the two sides ended in deadlock, and correspondents say that the fighting looks set to continue.

The rebels want independence for the 2.5m-strong minority Tamil community in the north and east of the country.

At least 3,400 people have been killed in the conflict in the past year, the government says.

More than 65,000 lives have been lost since 1972.