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Suicide blast hits S Lanka town Suicide blast hits Sri Lanka town
(30 minutes later)
A suicide blast in the Sri Lankan town of Anuradhapura has killed 20 people, including a top former army general, the defence ministry says. A suicide blast in the Sri Lankan town of Anuradhapura has killed more than 25 people, including a top former army general, the defence ministry says.
Maj Gen Janaka Perera, one of Sri Lanka's most prominent army generals, and his wife died in the blast in the north-central Anuradhapura town. Maj Gen Janaka Perera and his wife died in the blast in the north-central Anuradhapura town.
A suicide bomber blew himself up inside the United National Party (UNP) office near a bus depot, officials said. More than 65 people were injured when a suicide bomber blew himself up inside the United National Party (UNP) office near a bus depot, officials said.
They blamed the attack on separatist Tamil Tiger rebels. Officials blamed the attack on separatist Tamil Tiger rebels.
About 70,000 people have been killed in the violence spanning a quarter of a century. Maj Gen Perera was the provincial leader of the country's main opposition party UNP.
"A suicide bomber went inside and exploded... Among the dead were Janaka Perera and his wife," news agency Reuters quoted senior police officer KPP Pathirana as saying.
Maj Gen Perera was one of Sri Lanka's most prominent army officers who held the command of the Tiger stronghold Jaffna peninsula in the mid-1990s.
The Tamil community accused him of being responsible for hundreds of deaths and the torture of Tamils in the region during the period.
The human rights group, Amnesty International, also raised similar concerns.
The Tamil Tiger rebels have been fighting for a separate homeland for a quarter of a century and about 70,000 people have been killed in the violence.