A claymore mine explosion by suspected Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam rebels on a passenger bus on Monday left 13 people, including two women, dead and 16 injured in a town in north-central Sri Lanka [Images].

The explosion took place at Ethawatunwewa at a location between the Buddhist city of Anuradhapura and Janakpura in Vavuniya.

Thirteen passengers died and 16 injured, some of them seriously, Military spokesman Udaya Nanayakkhara told PTI.

Meanwhile a police official said the explosion, that took place at 3.50 pm, looked to be the handiwork of the LTTE.

According to the sources at Padaviya hospital, 17 victims were taken to the hospital and six of them, including two children, were transferred to the Anuradhapura Hospital.

This is the fifth explosion to strike the island country since the last three days as the nation celebrated its diamond jubilee independence day on Monday.

On Sunday a female suicide bomber exploded herself at the Fort Railway Station in the heart of Colombo killing 12 persons and injuring about 100 others.

On Saturday, a parcel bomb planted by suspected LTTE rebels ripped through a bus packed with Buddhist pilgrims, killing 18 passengers, mostly women, and injuring 51 others in the central Sri Lankan town of Dambulla.

Two minor explosion took place on Monday in the outskirts of Colombo though there were no casualties.