15 February, 2010 - Published 15:06 GMT

Grenade kills two children in Jaffna

Police in northern Sri Lanka say at least two school children have been killed and seven others injured in an explosion, thought to have been caused by a discarded grenade.

Officials say the blast happened on the Jaffna Peninsula when the children began playing with what they thought was a ball, which then blew up.

Northern Sri Lanka witnessed heavy fighting between the security forces and the Tamil Tiger rebels during the civil war which ended last year.

There are fears that the region is still littered with unexploded shells and grenades.