Bus bomb kills 24 in Sri Lanka

COLOMBO—A bomb hidden on the overhead rack of a bus in a Colombo suburb exploded Friday evening, killing 24 civilians and wounding 40 others, Sri Lankan authorities said. The military blamed Tamil rebels for the blast.
The explosion took place about 6:45 p.m. while the vehicle was at a bus stand in the town of Piliyandala just south of the capital, said military spokesman Brig. Udaya Nanayakkara.
“This is definitely an LTTE act,” he said, referring to the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam rebels. The bomb sent a huge fireball exploding from the bus, said R. Pushamakumara, a vendor who had been selling lentils nearby. The bus was torn to pieces and seats flew everywhere, he said. R. B. Dharmasiry, a driver, saw the lifeless body of a child as he ran to help the wounded, “It is horrible, I saw many people laying on the ground,” he said. Ambulances with sirens wailing flooded a nearby hospital, where off-duty doctors and nurses ran in to help the injured. The body of a Buddhist monk and a small child were brought to the morgue. At least three of the bodies were unrecognizable.

—Agencies