Colombo, Sri Lanka - Suspected Tamil Tiger rebels sprayed gunfire during a Hindu temple ceremony in eastern Sri Lanka, wounding four people, including two school girls, the defence ministry said in a statement.
The attackers rode a motorcycle and opened fire while devotees were taking part in a religious service at a temple in the district of Batticaloa, the ministry said in a statement on Sunday.
"The latest act of violation (of the ceasefire) by the LTTE has injured four civilians, including two teenaged girls in the general area of Batticaloa," the statement said. The attackers escaped.
There was no comment available from the the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE).
The military said a formal complaint was lodged with the Norwegian-led Sri Lanka Monitoring Mission which rules on violations of a ceasefire in place since February 23 2002.
The shooting was aimed at the chief lay custodian of the temple and a former soldier, police said.
The shooting was seen by the military as being linked to ongoing factional clashes in the area.
There have been a spate of killings in the eastern province where Tamil Tiger rebels and a breakaway faction have clashed since an unprecedented split in March last year.