Blast kills 7 troops in Lankan base
The head of Sri Lanka's paramilitary Civil Defence Force, Vice Admiral Sarath Weerasekera (C, in white uniform) inspects the site of a suicide bombing at the Colombo suburb of Wattala yesterday where eight people were killed and 20 others were wounded. Photo: AP
A Tamil Tiger suicide bomber killed seven security personnel and a civilian at a base just outside Sri Lanka's capital on Sunday as troops mounted pressure on the rebels in the north, officials said.
The male bomber barged into the base of the Civil Defence Force near a market in Wattala, a suburb of the capital Colombo, and detonated explosives he was carrying, a police official at the scene said.
"The suicide bomber managed to get through the first checkpoint and stage the bombing inside the CDF detachment," the officer said. "An officer and four men were killed on the spot."
Twenty people were taken to hospital, of whom three were found to be dead on arrival.
Several vehicles at the nearby market had their windscreens shattered and residents said they were jolted by the sound of the huge explosion.
Military spokesman Brigadier Udaya Nanayakkara said military reinforcements were rushed to the area to step up security and help with the investigation.
Security in the capital was further heightened following the bombing, police said.
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