COLOMBO, Sri Lanka, AUG 1, SPA -- A roadside bomb planted by Tamil Tiger rebels killed 18 army soldiers and wounded two others Monday in northeastern Sri Lanka, military sources said. The attack took place in the northeastern city of Kantale in Trincomalee, a port district, the sources said. The soldiers were going to join other troops fighting to end a rebel blockade of reservoir water, CNN reported. The heavy fighting erupted after Sri Lankan troops launched an offensive to end a rebel blockade of water to some 30,000 acres of paddy land in the government-held eastern Batticaloa district, military and government sources said Monday. --SPA 1253 Local Time 0953 GMT www.spa.gov.sa/379609