Suicide bomber kills 8 in Sri Lanka - reports

A suspected Tamil Tiger suicide bomber killed eight people including six paramilitary guards in Sri Lanka's capital Colombo today…

A suspected Tamil Tiger suicide bomber killed eight people including six paramilitary guards in Sri Lanka's capital Colombo today while air force jets bombed rebel positions in the far north.

Military spokesman Brigadier Udaya Nanayakkara said the Tamil Tiger rebel targeted a security checkpoint near a crowded market in the northern suburb of Wattala.

"The death toll has gone up to eight people including six civil defence force personnel, one army officer and a civilian," Nanayakkara said. He said 17 others were injured and being treated at two hospitals.

A Reuters witness said the site of the blast had been cordoned off.

While Sri Lanka's military blamed the rebels for the blast, the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) did not immediately comment on the attack and has in the past denied responsibility for such attacks.

Military officials said air force fighter jets had bombed rebel positions in the far north of the country, hours after the suicide attack. Earlier, the Sri Lankan navy said it had killed four rebels and destroyed a rebel boat in the north.

The military said heavy fighting continued around the rebels' self-proclaimed capital Kilinochchi in the northern war zone.

Sri Lanka's military has been closing in on Kilinochchi since September and in the past two weeks has been assaulting heavy defences encircling the town's outskirts.

Reuters