☰

Global

Explosion wounds 9 in Sri Lankan capital


    COLOMBO (Reuters) - A blast in the Sri Lankan capital Colombo wounded at least nine people on Monday, but the military said it was a criminal attack that was not related to the war with rebel Tamil Tiger separatists.

    Two of the nine people admitted to hospital with blastinjuries were in a serious condition, Dr. Hector Weerasinghe, adirector at Colombo's National Hospital, told Reuters.

    Military spokesman Brigadier Udaya Nanayakkara said theblast in Colombo's Pettah district, a busy market area near thecentral business zone, was caused by some type of explosivethat went off underneath a car. Local media said it was a handgrenade.

    "This is an act of the underworld. This has nothing to dowith terrorists," Nanayakkara said.

    The rebel Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam, fighting thegovernment for the past 25 years to create a separate homelandfor the Tamil ethnic minority, have frequently been blamed forbomb attacks in the capital.

    The latest explosion blamed on the rebels also struckPettah, wounding at least 45 people at a crowded bus stop onAugust 30. The Tamil Tigers have made no comment on thatattack.