02-02-2008

Bus bombing kills 20 as Sri Lanka readies for independence day

COLOMBO (AFP) - Suspected Tamil Tiger rebels detonated a bomb on a crowded bus in northern Sri Lanka killing at least 20 people on Saturday, officials said, two days ahead of celebrations marking independence day.

The parcel bomb ripped through the vehicle at a bus station in Dambulla, 150 kilometres (93 miles) north of Colombo. It had stopped en route to the Buddhist pilgrimage town of Anuradhapura to pick up more passengers, police said.

President Mahinda Rajapakse condemned the bombing and urged people not to be provoked by what he called the "savage attack" of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE).

The Tamil rebels are "eager to create a backlash (by the Sinhalese majority) to obtain the sympathy of the international community" for their long fight for an independent homeland, Rajapakse said in a statement.

There was no immediate word from the LTTE.

In 1983, LTTE rebels blew up 13 Sinhalese troops, triggering massive anti-Tamil riots. An estimated 400 to 600 Tamils were massacred in the aftermath, sparking international condemnation of Sri Lanka.

In the latest attack, 13 people were pronounced dead on arrival at Dambulla hospital, while five died there and two others died while they were being rushed from the scene, a Dambulla hospital spokesman said.

"Most of the victims had serious burn injuries," the spokesman told AFP.

Military spokesman Udaya Nanayakkara said at least 20 people were killed in Saturday's bus bombing.

The attack came as Sri Lanka stepped up security ahead of festivities on Monday to mark the country's 60th anniversary of independence from Britain.

"This act of terror, similar to many other acts of savagery directed at innocent civilians before, underscores the continued commitment of the LTTE to violence to achieve their goal of separation," Rajapakse said.

Some 42 people were being treated at Dambulla hospital while 26 had been transferred to two better-equipped facilities in the region, the spokesman said. No foreigners were among the casualties.

The privately owned bus was taking Buddhist pilgrims from the central town of Kandy to north central Anuradhapura town. Police cordoned off the blast site and an investigation was underway, a police officer said by telephone.

Initial reports suggested the blast originated inside the bus when it was parked at the station -- a key transit point for people travelling in the region, he said.

Dambulla is a historic town known for a Buddhist rock temple as well as an upmarket tourist resort with boutique hotels.

Tamil Tiger rebels set off a powerful suicide truck bomb in the same area in October 2006, killing at least 116 navy sailors heading home on leave.

Police increased already tight security in the capital Saturday and carried out an intensive search along the main road to the island's international airport and found two "suicide jackets," which are usually worn by LTTE bombers.

A government minister was killed on the same highway last month when rebels set off a roadside bomb.

There have been a string of bomb attacks this year. On Friday, a suicide bomber on a bicycle killed four people in northern Jaffna peninsula, an attack the military blamed on the Tigers.

They were also blamed for bombing a bus in the island's south last month, killing 27 passengers, and later killing another 10 civilians in a separate attack in the same area.

The Tigers accused the military of bombing a school bus inside rebel-held territory last month, killing 18 people, including 11 children.

The Tamil Tigers have been fighting for a separate Tamil homeland since 1972 in a conflict that has left tens of thousands dead.

Source-AFP