"The government of Sri Lanka condemns this attack by the LTTE in the strongest terms," Foreign Minister Rohitha Bogollagama, who is accompanying President Mahinda Rajapakse on a week-long state visit to China, said in a statement here.

"This is a reminder for the international community to take effective measures to eliminate fundraising and weapon procurement by the LTTE in foreign countries," he said.

Bogollagama said that Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) rebels had meant to attack the diplomats.

"The LTTE has shown its true form as a terrorist organisation," he said.

"This attack has been deliberately levelled against the foreign diplomats who were undertaking a humanitarian mission. I regret the situation that the foreign diplomats were subjected to in our country," he said.

The artillery attack by Tamil Tiger rebels wounded the German, Italian and US ambassadors as they visited the troubled region of Batticaloa, where Tiger rebels and government forces are engaged in a see-saw battle for control.

The Sri Lankan Foreign Minister said Colombo remained committed to ending the decades-long conflict with the rebels.