Sri Lanka suicide bomber kills dozens

A Sri Lankan suicide bomber has killed at least 26 people, including an opposition party provincial leader, in a historic town. The blast, immediately blamed on the rebel Tamil Tigers, also injured at least 80 people, the military said. The bomber struck during the opening of a new office for the opposition United National Party (UNP) in the north central town of Anuradhapura, 124 miles north of the capital Colombo. The politician killed, Janaka Perera, was also a retired Major-General. Deputy Inspector General KPP Pathirana said: "A suicide bomber went inside and exploded. My senior officer there said 22 people were killed, and among the dead were Janaka Perera and his wife." The toll was later raised to 26. Last month Major-General Perera unsuccessfully ran to be North Central Province's chief minister, a powerful local position. Military spokesman Brigadier Udaya Nanayakkara said the general was targeted because "he fought against the LTTE, and also to create backlash in the south". The military said the blast was the latest carried out by the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), who are credited with perfecting suicide bombing during a 25-year war to establish a separate homeland for the country's Tamil minority.

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ITN | October 6, 2008

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