A suspected Tamil Tiger suicide bomber killed 15 people and wounded 20, including Sri Lanka's telecommunications minister, during a parade in south of the Indian Ocean island on Tuesday, officials said.
The blast happened near a mosque in Godapitiya in Matara district, about 160 km (100 miles) south of the capital, Colombo, during a festival to celebrate the birthday of the Prophet Mohammed. About 20 people, including Postal Services Minister Mahinda Wijesekera and Culture Minister Mahinda in the suicide attack, with Wijesekera reportedly fighting for his life in a local hospital.
A defense spokesman blamed the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE). "It is a suicide blast so it must be the LTTE," he said. |