Sri Lanka blasts kill at least 22

At least 22 people have been killed and scores injured after two bomb attacks on buses in Sri Lanka blamed on Tamil Tiger rebels.

In the first attack, 20 people were killed and 64 wounded when a roadside bomb exploded during morning rush hour near a crowded bus in the capital Colombo. Later, an explosion on a bus in the central town of Polgolla killed at least two and injured 20 others.

Hotel worker Aruna Wickramarachchi, 45, who was on the bus, said: "I was on my way to office and suddenly I heard a loud explosion and saw people screaming with blood all over. My leg was also injured from the explosion."

An official with the police bomb disposal unit said the roadside bomb was detonated by remote control.

The blasts come two days after the military blamed rebels for a bomb attack on a railway track that wounded 27 civilians in Colombo.

President Mahinda Rajapaksa called on people to remain calm, saying: "Remain vigilant against the forces of terror and continue to assist the police and security forces in the task of eradicating terrorism from our country."

On Thursday, fresh fighting in the northern districts of Jaffna, Vavuniya, Polonnaruwa and Mannar killed 17 rebels and five soldiers. Two civilians also died in rebel-held Mullaithivu when their tractor hit a mine.

The UN Office for the Co-ordination of Humanitarian Affairs says more than 200 civilians have died in bombings since the beginning of the year in both government-controlled ethnic majority Sinhalese areas and northern rebel-held territory.

The Tigers have fought since 1983 to create an independent homeland for ethnic minority Tamils, who have been marginalised by successive governments controlled by the majority Sinhalese. More than 70,000 people have been killed.

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