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Suicide bombing kills 11 at railway station

A suspected Tamil Tiger suicide bomber blew herself up on Sunday at the main railway station in Sri Lanka's capital, killing 11 people and wounding 92 others as the government prepared to celebrate the nation's 60th anniversary, officials said.

  • AP
  • Published: 14:12 February 3, 2008
  • Gulf News

Colombo: A suspected Tamil Tiger suicide bomber blew herself up on Sunday at the main railway station in Sri Lanka's capital, killing 11 people and wounding 92 others as the government prepared to celebrate the nation's 60th anniversary, officials said.

The attack in the heart of Colombo came amid a major increase in violence in the island nation. Government troops and separatist rebels have been battling in the jungles of the north, while suicide bombers and other militants have attacked civilians and military targets deep inside government-held territory.

The suicide attack was apparently aimed at civilians crowded into the Fort railway station in Colombo, military spokesman Briga-dier Udaya Nanayakkara said. "It was a suicide blast on Platform 3. The bomber got down from a train and exploded," he said, blaming the Tamil Tiger rebels.

Telephone calls to rebel spokesman Rasiah Ilanthirayan's office were not answered. "I was near my counter and I heard a big blast. When I looked behind I saw a policeman bleeding," said Ravindra Pinto, a ticket inspector. "As I took him and rushed out, I saw many men and women on the ground," said Pinto, who was not injured in the blast.

Nanayakkara said 11 people were killed and 92 others wounded in the attack. Earlier on Sunday a grenade exploded at a zoo on the outskirts of Colombo, wounding at least four people, the military said.

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