Colombo, May 10: At least eight people have been killed in a bomb explosion in Sri Lanka's Ampara District.

"Suspected Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) militants have exploded a bomb inside the New City Cafe in Ampara town on Friday", a Defence Ministry statement said.

"This is another cowardly attempt of the LTTE to disrupt the normalcy in the area as the government is scheduled to hold the provincial council elections to establish democracy in the eastern province", the ministry said.

Meanwhile, security has been further beefed up in the area for the Eastern Provincial Council polls to elect 37 members.

The voting in 1,070 polling stations in Ampara, Trincomalee, Batticaloa districts began today.

Fully liberated from the LTTE last year, this will be the first time in 20 years that elections will be held in the Eastern province. (ANI)