Sri Lanka bus blast kills 21 people
Friday, 06 Jun 2008 08:46

At least 21 people have been killed in Colombo
In Focus
Now almost 25 years old, the civil war in Sri Lanka has intensified in recent weeks following the government's official withdrawal from a 2001 ceasefire. Full Story
A bomb has exploded on a bus in Sri Lanka's capital Colombo, killing at least 21 people and wounding 47 others.
The Associated Press news agency quotes military spokesman Brigadier Udaya Nananyakkara as saying the Tamil Tiger rebel group was behind the attack in Moratuwa.
The bombing comes just two days after 24 people were injured when a packed commuter train was hit by a bomb.
And the rebel group were blamed for a bombing last week at Dehiwela railway station which killed at least eight people.
Today's explosion comes as the Sri Lankan army continues its offensive against the Tamil Tigers.
For decades the rebels have been fighting for an independent state in the northern and eastern regions of the island.
Some 70,000 people have been killed since fighting broke out in 1983.