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| Bus bomb kills 16 in Lanka | | |
COLOMBO, APR 2
A powerful blast triggered by suspected Tamil Tiger rebels ripped through a crowded passenger bus in eastern Sri Lanka today, killing at least 16 people and injuring 25 others.
The bomb exploded as the passengers of the bus were getting off at a military check point just outside the town of Ampara, 350 km east of the capital Colombo.
"Three people were dead on admission while 13 more died after being taken for surgery," a hospital spokesman said, adding that about 25 people had been brought in with injuries.
The blast came as Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapakse was in New Delhi to attend the SAARC summit opening tomorrow. The Colombo government wants to discuss the issue of "terrorism" during the summit, an official here said.
Police said that the Tiger guerrillas may have set off the blast as part of efforts to ease the pressure on their cadre facing military onslaughts in the region in recent weeks.
The Sri Lanka Monitoring Mission (SLMM) which is supervising what is left of the February 2002 truce said it was sending monitors to the area to launch a probe.
The government also rushed several ministers to provide relief to the victims by way of compensation and medical treatment.
The Tigers denied they had anything to do with the bombing and a rebel spokeswoman told reporters here that it was the work of "forces against our movement".
The Tigers said the unidentified "forces" were trying to discredit them.
The latest blast came as the Tigers denied killing six civilians in the neighbouring Batticaloa district last night.
The rebels, who were held responsible by the military for last night's massacre, today blamed the breakaway Karuna faction.
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