• Most Popular
  • Most Shared

Grenade blast wounds 7 suspected rebels in Sri Lanka prison

COLOMBO
Thu Aug 28, 2008 11:43pm EDT

COLOMBO (Reuters) -- A hand grenade blast inside a prison in eastern Sri Lanka wounded seven prisoners, most of them suspected of being allied with the separatist Tamil Tiger rebels, police said.

World

"There has been an explosion inside Batticaloa prison. Seven people have been injured and admitted to Batticaloa hospital," police spokesman Ranjith Gunasekara said.

"All of them are Tamils, and most of them are suspected of LTTE (rebel) activities."

The elite Special Task Force police paramilitary unit found a second grenade, he said.

Sri Lanka's government has been locked in a 25-year civil war with the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), who want to create a homeland for the minority ethnic Tamil people in the north and east of the Indian Ocean island nation.

(Reporting by Ranga Sirilal; Editing by Valerie Lee)



More from Reuters

Photo

U.S. home sales bolster economic growth prospects

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Sales of previously owned U.S. homes jumped to the highest level in nearly three years last month, the latest sign the economic recovery was gaining steam after growing below expectations in the third quarter.

Guadalupe Hernandez receives an ultrasound by nurse practitioner Gail Brown during a prenatal exam at the Maternity Outreach Mobile in Phoenix, Arizona October 8, 2009. Credit: REUTERS/Joshua Lott

Health reform inches closer

Democrats are on the verge of passing landmark legislation by Christmas, with only one more hurdle remaining.  Full Article | Video 

Two men is reflected on a glass wall of Exhibitions Central in Dubai December 21, 2009, where Dubai World's western bank creditors are meeting. REUTERS/Ahmed Jadallah
Analysis:

Dubai, it's time to get creative

Scrambling to rebuild its image after a $26 billion debt bombshell, Dubai needs to raise cash without the PR nightmare of raising taxes.  Full Article