COLOMBO The convoy of a tiger leader going for talks with a Norwegian envoy has been hit by a mine attack, dealing a further blow to the fragile peace bid, Tamil and diplomatic sources said Wednesday.

The four-wheel drive vehicle that was providing security to Thamil Chelvan, the head of the political section of the liberation tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), was hit on Tuesday in an area held by the rebels.

The bomb attack killed at least one tiger rebel and wounded two others ahead of crucial talks with Norway's special envoy, Erik Solheim, the pro-rebel tamilnet.com website said.

It said a "deep penetration team" of the Sri Lankan Army was responsible for the attack near Kokavil, some 50 kilometers (31 miles) north of the army's front lines at Omanthai.

Defence Ministry spokesman Sanath Karunaratne denied government forces were responsible. "We have no involvement whatsoever in this," K Runaratne said. "This is an area where we don't have our troops."

Solheim, who was due to travel to the rebel-held area, left the capital Colombo on Wednesday afternoon even though the military had arranged for him to fly earlier in the morning.

"He is on his way to the Wanni now," Norwegian Embassy spokesman Stangeland said. "He is meeting with LTTE leaders, but I can't say who and when."

The Tamilnet website said talks are expected to take place Thursday.

Solheim was due to meet with leaders of the ltte in the Wanni region, but it was not immediately clear if tiger supremo Velupillai Prabhakaran would take part as he did on November 1.

It was the November meeting between Solheim and Prabhakaran that raised Sri Lanka's peace hopes with the Norwegian diplomat announcing the tigers were serious about entering political negotiations by winding down the war.

However, much blood has flown under the bridge since then. A fresh government offensive last month killed at least 450 combatants on both sides and dealt a blow to Solheim's efforts.

Even before the latest blast, the peace process was further complicated by demands from an influential minority Muslim party to take part in the negotiations, officials and diplomats said.

A key Muslim ally of President Chandrika Kumaratunga's government held talks Tuesday with Solheim and asked that his Sri Lanka Muslim Congress (SLMC) be taken aboard the process.

"Any settlement reached will not be seen as legitimate if the Muslims are not involved in the negotiations," SLMC leader and trade minister Rauf Hakeem said after his talks with Solheim.

Hakeem said his slmc fully supported Norway's role in the island but wanted to secure a place for his party in the peace process involving the government and the Tamil Tiger rebels.

SLMC which holds 10 seats in the 225-member national Parliament holds a balance of power and can make or break Kumaratunga's government, and in past weeks the slmc leader has publicly crossed swords with her.

Muslims, who are recognised as a distinct ethnic community in Sri Lanka, are the second-largest minority after the Tamils in this majority sinhalese country where more than 60,000 people have been killed in almost three decades of ethnic bloodshed.

Solheim arrived here Tuesday, his second visit in two weeks, to try to secure a truce between the Colombo government and the LTTE before direct talks between the antagonists.

He held separate talks Tuesday with President Kumaratunga, opposition leader Ranil Wickremesinghe and leaders of a moderate Tamil party.

Sri Lanka's peace hopes dimmed last week when the LTTE and Solheim denied a Colombo government statement that the parties to the conflict had reached agreement on opening talks.