Six civilians killed, 18 more wounded in Colombo blast

Colombo, May 28 (UNI) At least six civilians were killed besides four elite Special Task Force (STF) personnel and 14 more civilians wounded when a truck carrying the STF personnel was blown up just outside the city of Colombo this evening, military sources said.

The blast was caused by a claymore mine explosion by the suspected Tamil Tiger rebels.

According to an official attached to the Media Center for National Security (MCNS) of the Ministry of Defence said the powerful claymore targeting the STF truck exploded near Belik-kade junction at Ratmalana, along the main Colombo-Galle high way, a few hundred meters away from Air Force airport base.

''Initially at least four STF commandos and over 20 civilians have been wounded in the blast. But six civilians succumbed to their injuries on admission to the Kalubowila and Panadura hospitals,'' the MCNS official said, adding that at least five civilian vehicles were also damaged due to the blast.

''This is yet another LTTE terror attack regardless of heavy civilian presence,'' he said.

The blast came exactly four days after a mine attack by the suspected Tamil Tigers on an army bus in the heart of the Colombo city which killed one soldier and wounded six others, including three civilians.

UNI