Colombo, Dec 20 (Xinhua) Sri Lanka's Tamil Tiger rebels attacked an office of its breakaway group in the eastern part of the country and killed at least two rival members.

A spokesperson for the rival faction led by Karuna alias Vinayagamurthi Muralitharan Wednesday said the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) attacked their political office located in Kalmunai town Tuesday night at around 9.00 p.m.

Around 15 LTTE members attacked the office with rocket propelled grenades and heavy arms fire killing two people and injuring two.

An hour earlier, the LTTE had led a similar attack on the Karuna faction office in the eastern port town of Trincomalee but no one was hurt, the spokesperson added.

Meanwhile, the government Tuesday blamed the LTTE for the abduction of 23 students and two teachers for forcible recruitment at Thirukkovil in the eastern district of Ampara.

The rebels who admitted to the abduction said they had released the students after having discovered that many of them were under-aged. The government, however, said the students were released due to heavy pressure from the local and international community.

The LTTE has received worldwide condemnation for their policy of recruiting children for armed combat in their battle against security forces.