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| Deadly bomb blast strikes Colombo | Deadly bomb blast strikes Colombo |
| (40 minutes later) | |
| A bomb targeting a bus in the Sri Lankan capital of Colombo has killed at least four people and injured another 20, police and military officials say. | |
| The blast took place as the military bus was passing a busy junction in a district that houses key military installations, reports said. | |
| A hospital official told Reuters that two of those killed were soldiers. | A hospital official told Reuters that two of those killed were soldiers. |
| Military officials said they suspected the separatist Tamil Tigers. The rebels denied involvement, Reuters reported. | |
| The powerful explosion took place near Hotel Nippon in Colombo's commercial Slave Island area. | |
| Victims were taken to the Colombo national hospital, where several people were reportedly in critical condition. | Victims were taken to the Colombo national hospital, where several people were reportedly in critical condition. |
| Damaged | |
| "There was a Claymore (landmine) attack targeting an army bus carrying troops," a military official at the scene told Reuters. | |
| The official said there were "about 11 soldiers" on board the bus. | |
| Most of the victims were civilians while a few soldiers were also admitted with shrapnel injuries, news agency AFP quoted hospital director Hector Weerasinghe as saying. | |
| Police and eyewitnesses said the low-budget Nippon hotel suffered extensive damage and staff members were also among those wounded. | |
| Fighting between troops and the rebels, who want autonomy for minority Tamils in the north and east, has worsened in recent months. | |
| A Norwegian-brokered ceasefire in 2002 broke down two years ago, resulting in renewed fighting that has killed more than 5,000 people. | |
| At least 70,000 people have died since the war began in 1983. |