SRI LANKA: At least 5 dead and 30 wounded in blast on a bus in western Sri Lanka on Friday, Tamil Tiger revels are suspected of being reponsible for the bombing

Suspected Tamil Tiger rebels set off a bomb in a bus in western Sri Lanka on Friday (January 5), killing at least five people and wounding 30, the military said, as fighting raged in the north and east of the island. Around 80 people were aboard the bus when the blast occurred in the town of Nittambuwa, 36 km (20 miles) north of Colombo, during evening rush hour. A local military spokesman said a powerful bomb places underneath a passenger seat set the bus on fire. "I heard a loud noise and stopped the bus, then I saw smoke and called for my assistant. He was alright. Together we took the injured out of the bus. Most people were unconscious," said bus driver Nimal Hettiarachchi There was no immediate comment from the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam, who want to carve out a separate homeland for minority Tamils in the east and north of the island. At least five people were killed and the death toll was expected to rise further, with at least 10 of the 30 wounded suffering serious injuries. "I was standing outside my shop carrying my child when I heard an explosion on the bus. I gave my child to my wife and ran towards the bus. There was a injured girl and I carried her out. Then I saw smoke. I gathered the people whom were around and put out the fire. Then we put the injured in vehicles to take them to hospital," said eye witness Wasantha Perera. The blast in the relatively peaceful west took place at a time when the Sri Lankan military has launched air and artillery attacks on the LTTE in the north and the east of the island. More than 3,000 people were killed in suicide bombings, aerial and naval raids and clashes last year despite a 2002 ceasefire that international monitors say now exists only on paper. A mine explosion earlier in the day in the rebel-controlled northern region killed two government agriculture officials, the Tigers said, blaming the blast on government forces. The Tigers said a Sri Lankan army group had crossed into the rebel-controlled Nedunkeni area, apparently to target rebels but hit the government officials by mistake. The military denied any involvement. Sri Lankan government planes pressed on with attacks on rebel bases for a fourth consecutive day on Friday. The military said a Sea Tiger base in the northern rebel-controlled Mullaittivu area was destroyed. It did not give any details on casualties. Independent confirmation of the fighting is not possible, and both sides often exaggerate rival losses while downplaying their own. Violence between the military and the LTTE has escalated in recent weeks, with the government vowing to dislodge the rebels from their strongholds in the east. Around 80 people were aboard the bus when the blast occurred in the town of Nittambuwa, 36 km (20 miles) north of Colombo, during evening rush hour. "It was a bomb inside the bus, very powerful, the bus caught fire," said military spokesman Brigadier Prasad Samarasinghe. "The Tigers are targeting civilians." He said the bomb was place beneath a passenger seat. There was no immediate comment from the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam, who want to carve out a separate homeland for minority Tamils in the east and north of the island. Samarasinghe said at least five people were killed and he expected the death toll to rise further. "There are at least 30 injured, 10 of them serious, the number may go up." More than 3,000 people were killed in suicide bombings, aerial and naval raids and clashes last year despite a 2002 cease-fire that international monitors say now exists only on paper. A mine explosion earlier in the day in the rebel-controlled northern region killed two government agriculture officials, the Tigers said, blaming the blast on government forces. The Tigers said a Sri Lankan army group had crossed into the rebel-controlled Nedunkeni area, apparently to target rebels but hit the government officials by mistake. The military denied any involvement. Sri Lankan government planes pressed on with attacks on rebel bases for a fourth consecutive day on Friday. The military said a Sea Tiger base in the northern rebel-controlled Mullaittivu area was destroyed. It did not give any details on casualties. Independent confirmation of the fighting is not possible, and both sides often exaggerate rival losses while downplaying their own. Violence between the military and the LTTE has escalated in recent weeks, with the government vowing to dislodge the rebels from their strongholds in the east.

ITN Source | January 6, 2007

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