Sri Lanka car bomb kills 2

A car bomb exploded in Colombo yesterday, killing two people, including a three-year-old boy, as fighting continued in Sri Lanka’s northeast and the government vowed to probe the execution-style deaths of 17 aid staff.

Bomb squad officials said a magnetic bomb had been fixed to the rear of a minivan carrying a minority Tamil politician opposed to the Tamil Tiger rebels, and detonated in a residential quarter of the capital. Sivardasan, a senior member of the Eelam Peoples’ Democratic Party (EPDP) – which is allied to President Mahinda Rajapakse’s government – survived.His bodyguard was killed.A Reuters witness at the scene saw the towel-draped body of a child lying on the tarmac as an elderly man wept nearby.The body of the bodyguard was still in the van.Five other people were admitted to hospital with burns.”The child is three years old.His mother is working as a maid here.We were going home after work when it exploded,” said the child’s grandfather, John Rathaya, 61.”Why did they take my child.They could have taken me,” he said.”Let’s fight against terrorists.I will join you all.”The attack came as government howitzers pounded Tamil Tiger positions near the north eastern port of Trincomalee as fighting continued in the area for a 14th day.Suspected Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) rebels shot dead an airman in Trincomalee, and two police commandos were killed further south in Ampara district.The army said operations were also continuing south of Trincomalee where the government is trying to regain control of rebel-held water supplies, the dispute that kick-started the first ground fighting since a 2002 ceasefire.The attack also came as wailing relatives prepared to bury the remains of 17 slain staff from international aid organisation Action Contre la Faim (ACF), most of them shot in the head execution-style in the battle-ravaged eastern town of Mutur.Nampa-ReutersSivardasan, a senior member of the Eelam Peoples’ Democratic Party (EPDP) – which is allied to President Mahinda Rajapakse’s government – survived.His bodyguard was killed.A Reuters witness at the scene saw the towel-draped body of a child lying on the tarmac as an elderly man wept nearby.The body of the bodyguard was still in the van.Five other people were admitted to hospital with burns.”The child is three years old.His mother is working as a maid here.We were going home after work when it exploded,” said the child’s grandfather, John Rathaya, 61.”Why did they take my child.They could have taken me,” he said.”Let’s fight against terrorists.I will join you all.”The attack came as government howitzers pounded Tamil Tiger positions near the north eastern port of Trincomalee as fighting continued in the area for a 14th day.Suspected Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) rebels shot dead an airman in Trincomalee, and two police commandos were killed further south in Ampara district.The army said operations were also continuing south of Trincomalee where the government is trying to regain control of rebel-held water supplies, the dispute that kick-started the first ground fighting since a 2002 ceasefire.The attack also came as wailing relatives prepared to bury the remains of 17 slain staff from international aid organisation Action Contre la Faim (ACF), most of them shot in the head execution-style in the battle-ravaged eastern town of Mutur.Nampa-Reuters