COLOMBO: A bomb hidden inside a van exploded in a market area of Sri Lanka’s capital Colombo yesterday, wounding five people and damaging nearby vehicles as government troops advanced on a Tamil rebel stronghold in the north after killing an estimated 25 guerillas and losing one soldier overnight, military officials said.
Police said the bomb was the latest set off by the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), separatist guerrillas who are fighting one of the world’s longest-running insurgencies since taking up arms against the government in 1983.
The blast took place in Pettah, a market area which is adjacent to Fort, a heavily guarded zone full of government offices where police initially said the explosion was heard. Five people were admitted to Colombo National Hospital with minor injuries, hospital director Dr. Hector Weerasinghe said.
