The helicopter used by U.S. Ambassador Robert Blake and his Italian counterpart, Pio Mariani, had just landed in Batticaloa district when several mortars landed close to the aircraft, said Sri Lankan government minister Mahinda Samarasinghe, who accompanied them.

``Both the ambassadors are fine and they have suffered slight injuries,'' Samarasinghe said.

A small piece of shrapnel was removed from Mariani's head and he was later discharged, said Dr. K. Muruganandan of Batticaloa's government hospital.

The Tamil Tigers admitted firing the mortars, but blamed the Sri Lankan military.

``I express our regret at this unfortunate incident,'' Rasiah Ilanthirayan, the spokesman for the Tamil Tiger rebels, said from the insurgent headquarters in Kilinochchi.

He said the Sri Lankan army has used the same landing area to launch attacks on Tamil targets, and rebel fighters attacked the helicopters fearing further military assaults.

``Even this morning they had used the place to launch artillery fire at us,'' he said. ``Our people were not informed of the diplomatic movement ... This is a criminal negligence on the part of the Sri Lankan military.''

The two ambassadors, accompanied by their staff and Sri Lankan officials, had traveled Tuesday morning to Batticaloa aboard the helicopters to attend a meeting about the development of the area, a hotbed of separatist violence.

Samarasinghe's press officer, Lal Sarath Kumara, who was in the first helicopter to land, said the attack started shortly after his aircraft touched down in a deserted playground and its occupants disembarked.

``We escaped narrowly,'' Kumara said, adding everyone initially hit the ground after the attack began before taking cover.

``Everyone ran in various directions. There was huge chaos there and all the people were in fear. People were screaming and running.''

Kumara said he believed at least six shells hit the area.

The U.S. Embassy in a statement said Ambassador Blake was ``all right,'' without providing further details.

Japanese Ambassador Kiyoshi Araki, who was with the ambassadors in the second helicopter, was unhurt, a Japanese Foreign Ministry statement from Tokyo said.

Seven Sri Lankan security personnel on the ground were wounded, said Lt. Col. Upali Rajapakse, a senior officer the Defense Ministry's information section.

Associated Press Writer Bharatha Mallawarachi and Krishan Francis contributed to the report. Published: Tue Feb 27 07:11:07 EST 2007

On the condition of anonymity, the Indonesian official informed a local radio channel on Monday that under the deal the 83 Sri Lankans would only transit briefly through Indonesia on their way back to Sri Lanka. More... Discuss this story Published: Mon Feb 26 07:34:51 EST 2007

Those who have not been affected by a serious crime such as murder or robbery may see capital punishment as barbaric and inhuman. But the very same person who champions the message of mercy even for a mass murderer may justify capital punishment saying it serves as a deterrent when he becomes a victim.

At the funerals of victims of criminals, the call for the imposition of death penalty is loud and clear — with indignant relatives complaining about the inadequacy of our judicial and legal systems. "We must have strict laws and capital punishment like in Middle Eastern countries," one would hear them talk. But when four Sri Lankans were beheaded in Saudi Arabia and their bodies were publicly displayed, the uproar was universal. Condemnations came from every quarter. Saudi Arabia’s judicial system was torn to pieces. In the process, we all forgot the gravity of the crime the four Sri Lankans had committed. Actually, many in Sri Lanka still do not know why they were executed. It was only after they were executed that some background information began to trickle in — and that too from news agency reports. The reports said the four men were convicted of "forming a criminal gang which robbed a number of companies and threatened accountants and workers with weapons, shooting one of them and stealing his car". More... Discuss this story Published: Mon Feb 26 22:40:39 EST 2007