Muslim Official Slain by Tamils
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COLOMBO, Sri Lanka — Suspected Tamil gunmen killed a Muslim government officer in eastern Sri Lanka on Thursday and, in retaliation, Muslim residents attacked Tamil stores and set fire to offices of the Tamil Tigers militant group.
Authorities clamped a curfew on the town of Mutur near the eastern port of Trincomalee after the violence and residents said Indian peacekeeping troops were on patrol.
Habeeb Mohamed, assistant government agent for Mutur, was shot by three men as he went to a mosque for prayers, a military spokesman said.
The military spokesman and residents said that Muslims retaliated by attacking six stores owned by Mutur’s Tamil community and set fire to two offices of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam, the most powerful separatist group.
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