Motorbike suicide bomber kills 10 in Sri Lanka

By Ranga Sirilal

COLOMBO (Reuters) - A suicide bomber crashed his motorbike into a police bus in the Sri Lankan capital on Friday, killing 10 people, and authorities said Tamil Tiger rebels were to blame.

Doctors at the National Hospital in Colombo said eight policemen and two civilians were killed and more than 85 people wounded in the blast in a commercial quarter of the capital.

The area is a high security zone containing Sri Lanka's presidential office and military headquarters.

The military blamed the attack on the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), who want an independent state in the north and east of the island. The Tigers, who routinely deny involvement in such attacks, were not immediately available for comment.

"The target was a police bus and a motorbike crashed into the police bus," said military spokesman Brigadier Udaya Nanayakkara.

President Mahinda Rajapaksa condemned the attack and appealed for calm.

"With this bomb attack on a busy street, the LTTE has once again demonstrated to the world its total commitment to violence and terror to achieve its separatist goals in Sri Lanka, and its absolute contempt for democracy and human rights," he said in a statement.

Sri Lankan television showed the shattered side of the bus and other damaged vehicles, and casualties being rushed to hospital in private vehicles and taxis.