Tamil Tiger rebels in Sri Lanka on Tuesday accused the government troops of killing five Tamil students in the restive port town of Trincomalee, 260 km northeast of Colombo.
The Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam alleged the five boys, along with their families, were at the beachfront when a grenade exploded near them on Monday.
Within minutes, the military arrived at the scene and opened fire.
"As five of the students were being shot and killed, four other students tried to escape," a statement from the rebels said.
"As they ran, the Sri Lankan military's special forces fired at them and they incurred injuries on their arms and legs."
Meanwhile, the defence ministry said the students carried the grenade, which exploded accidentally and caused their deaths.
"Those young men, suspected to have arrived in order to carry out an attack on the troops or the police, were on the beach at the time their grenade went off," the ministry said in a statement.
It said troops assisted by the police rushed to the scene and recovered one more grenade, an abandoned motorbike and four push bicycles, believed to have been brought or used by the victims.
