A female Tamil Tiger suicide bomber has killed 24 people and injured scores more after blowing herself up among a group of civilians fleeing Sri Lanka's war zone, according the country's military.
"A female suicide cadre who came with civilians exploded herself while the military was checking them ... 60 civilians are injured," a spokesman for the military's media centre said on Monday.
The Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) had carried out two suicide attacks in the past week in an attempt to stop advancing troops, Udaya Nanayakkara, a military spokesman, said.
The reported attack came shortly after military officials said more than 15,000 civilians have fled the northern war zone over the past three days, as government forces attempt to wipe out the separatist Tigers.
Al Jazeera's David Hawkins, reporting from Sri Lanka, said a female suicide bomber blew herself up as she was being frisked by soldiers checking civilians leaving the war zone.
The government has been criticized for putting these civilians who have left the war zone into military camps, he said.
"But then they [government] say they have to check them very carefully to make sure Tamil Tiger fighters are not trying to sneak out along with civilians," he added.
"I think this suicide bomb attack shows that those concerns are legitimate."
Fears for civilians
The United Nations and aid agencies have expressed concern for the estimated 250,000 civilians trapped in the sliver of land still controlled by the Tigers.
The government has denied targeting civilians, claiming only 120,000 people are trapped, and has said food and water has been provided at the frontlines for those fleeing the conflict.
International organizations including the Red Cross have urged both sides to let noncombatants out of the conflict zone.
The government, aid agencies and rights groups have accused the rebels of forcibly keeping people in the war zone as human shields, conscripts and labourers, which the Tigers deny.
The pro-rebel website TamilNet alleged the military had shelled groups of civilians, killing more than 120 people on Friday and Saturday.
It is impossible to independently verify the two sides' claims as journalists are banned from the war zone.
The Tamils have waged a 25-year guerrilla campaign against the majority Sinhales who dominate Sri Lankan politics.
PHOTO CAPTION
Sri Lankan soldiers check a map after capturing the last and largest Tamil Tiger naval base in Chalai.
Al-Jazeera