A chief administrative officer in north-eastern Sri Lanka was injured along with 16 others during a midnight shell attack on their residences, officials said Frida, reported dpa.
Tamil rebels blamed the military for the shell attacks in Mullaitivu, 390 kilometres north-east of the capital Colombo, but the army denied the claim.
District chief Emelda Sukumar, the chief medical officer's wife and more than a dozen others were injured in the attack near the city hospital, officials in the area said.
Tamil rebels claimed an 18-month-old baby was killed in the attack, but there was no independent confirmation of the death.
Government troops launched a series of military operations to recapture Tamil rebel-held areas in the north of the island. Currently rebels are confined to the Mullaitivu district and the adjoining Kilinochchi district.
The military operations have displaced over 150,000 civilians who have now fled further into the rebel-controlled areas.