PANIPITIYA, Sri Lanka (Reuters) - One of Sri Lanka's top generals was killed on Monday by a suspected Tamil Tiger suicide bomber who rammed his motorcycle into an army convoy near the capital killing three other people, officials said. Army deputy chief of staff Major-General Parami Kulatunga was traveling to army headquarters when the attacker approached his vehicle and an escorting army pickup truck in rush-hour traffic around 12 miles from Colombo. The blast left the car a twisted wreck. "The general is dead. Two others (soldiers) are also dead," police Chief Inspector Chaminda Bamunuarachchi told Reuters at the scene. A civilian was also killed. "I think it was a suicide attack against the general."
The attack comes on the heels of a rash of ambushes and military clashes that have killed around 700 people -- half of them civilians -- so far this year. Many fear the violence could reignite a two-decade civil war with the rebels.
The Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) have long used suicide bombers both in battle and assassinations. An April attack by a female suicide bomber on army headquarters wounded the army commander and prompted government bombing raids on the rebels.
By mid-afternoon, there was no report of new military action against the Tigers. There have been no air strikes on the rebels since earlier in the month and the Tigers have warned of military retaliation if they resume. "No decision has been made yet on retaliation," head of the government peace secretariat Palitha Kohona told Reuters. "This is sheer terrorism. I think the Tigers have lost the plot. They don't seem to realize that terrorism is not an acceptable way to achieve political ends."