Blast at Sri Lankan mosque kills 10, wounds 20

Singh

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(CNN) -- A suicide bomber detonated explosives at a mosque in southern Sri Lanka on Tuesday, killing 10 people and wounding 20 others, authorities said.

The explosion occurred in the Matara district, the defense ministry said on its Web site.

The blast targeted Muslims attending Milad-un-Nabi celebrations, which observe the birth of Prophet Muhammad.

Authorities blamed the Tamil Tigers rebel group for the blast.

The rebels have fought for an independent homeland for the country's ethnic Tamil minority since 1983. The civil war has left more than 70,000 people dead.

http://www.cnn.com/2009/WORLD/asiapcf/03/10/srilanka.blast/index.html?eref=rss_world
 

EnlightenedMonk

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Suicide attack in Lanka, 15 people killed

http://ibnlive.in.com/news/suicide-attack-in-lanka-15-people-killed/87285-2.html

Colombo: Struggling to retain their last bit of territory in the north, LTTE struck back with vengeance on Tuesday when one of their suicide bombers killed at least 15 people and injured more than 20 others, including a senior minister, outside a mosque in southern Sri Lanka.

Postal Services Minister Mahinda Wijesekara, who is battling for his life, was airlifted to Colombo for emergency treatment. Southern province Chief Minister HG Sirisena was also injured in the attack.

"Around 10-15 people were killed as the suicide bomber struck the celebrations outside the mosque at Matara," Matara police spokesman Ranjit Gunasekara said.

The bomber appeared to have targeted six ministers and local politicians as they walked in a procession towards a mosque in Akuressa area in Matara to mark Milad-ud-Nabi, the

birth anniversary of Prophet Mohammad.

The attack came at a time when the Sri Lankan forces are on the verge of rooting out the LTTE from their last territory in Wanni region after 25 years of ethnic conflict.

The strike showed that the LTTE still retained some capability to launch attacks far from their traditional strongholds in the north and east.

Military spokesman Brig Udaya Nanayakkara said the blast was a suicide bomb attack and carried out by the LTTE.
 

EnlightenedMonk

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By the way, just an off topic question... isn't Matara district where Sanath Jaysuriya is from ??? I guess that's why they call him the "Matara Marauder" ???

:):):)
 

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