Bus bomb rocks Sri Lankan capital

Tamil Tiger rebels are thought to be behind a bomb blast on a bus that wounded 18 people in Sri Lanka.

The explosion destroyed the commuter bus on the outskirts of the capital Colombo.

But deaths were avoided after a female passenger spotted a suspicious parcel and got the driver to evacuate the vehicle before the device went off.

The incident was the latest in a string of bombings in recent months blamed on the separatist group.

The attack came a day after the Tigers accused the Sri Lankan government of killing eight civilians including three young children in an air raid on their northern stronghold.

Fighting between the military and Tigers has intensified since the government pulled out of a six-year-old ceasefire pact last month.

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