Sri Lanka blast kills at least eight
Friday, 16 May 2008 09:06
Eight Sri Lankan police officers have been killed in a suicide attack in Colombo
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At least eight Sri Lankan police officers have been killed after a suicide bomb exploded in the country's capital Colombo today.
The BBC reports that over 70 people were also injured after a man on a motorcycle crashed into a bus of police officer outside a Hilton hotel in the business district of the city.
Sri Lanka's army has reportedly blamed the rebel Tamil Tiger group for the suicide attack.
A member of staff at the hotel told BBC News there was a "loud explosion" and "it felt like an earthquake".
The Tamil Tigers have been fighting for an independent state for decades.
Reports suggest around 700,000 people have been killed in clashes with governmental troops since civil war broke out in 1983.