Officials in Sri Lanka say unidentified gunmen shot dead three Tamils in two separate incidents in the country's volatile eastern region.
Authorities say both incidents happened Wednesday evening. They say two suspected Tamil Tigers were gunned down near a bus stand in the town of Kalmunai. The third victim - believed to be a supporter of a breakaway faction of the rebel group - was killed in the town of Kathankudy.
No one has claimed responsibility for the killings.
Tamil rebels have been fighting for a separate Tamil homeland in Sri Lanka's east and north since 1983. The violence claimed more than 60,000 lives before the rebels agreed to a ceasefire with the government in 2002.