Suicide attacker targets police bus in Sri Lankan capital; 9 killed, 75 wounded

By BHARATHA MALLAWARACHI,Associated Press Writer AP - Saturday, May 17

COLOMBO, Sri Lanka - A suicide bomber on a motorcycle blew himself up next to a bus carrying police killing nine people, including seven policemen, and wounding 75 others in Sri Lanka's capital on Friday.

The blast came hours after air force fighter jets bombed a Tamil Tiger rebel base in the northern jungles, where 27 guerrillas and two government soldiers were killed in heavy fighting Thursday.

Military spokesman Brig. Udaya Nanayakkara, blaming the separatist guerrillas, said a suicide bomber on a motorbike triggered the blast as he rammed a bus carrying policemen on a busy Colombo street. The casualties included people on both sides of the street.

Rebel spokesman Rasiah Ilanthirayan did not answer calls from The Associated Press seeking comment, but the Tamil Tigers routinely deny responsibility for such attacks. The group, blamed for more than 240 suicide attacks, is listed as a terrorist organization by the United States and European Union.

The Tamil Tigers have fought since 1983 to create an independent homeland for ethnic minority Tamils, who have been marginalized by successive governments controlled by the majority Sinhalese. More than 70,000 people have been killed.

Early Friday, air force planes bombed a base of the Sea Tigers, the rebels' naval wing, in their de facto state in the north, said air force spokesman Wing Commander Andy Wijesuriya. Another airstrike on a rebel military base in the guerrilla stronghold of Mullaitivu took place overnight, he said.

Wijesuriya did not give details of casualties or damage, but said "pilots have confirmed they hit the target accurately."

Infantry clashes Thursday in the Vavuniya, Mannar and Jaffna regions, bordering the rebels' turf, killed 27 rebels and two government soldiers, the military said.

It was not possible to independently verify the military's claims because reporters are not allowed in the war zone. The two sides are known to exaggerate their enemies' casualties while underreporting their own.

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