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Massive probe launched: Tamil Tigers prime suspects

Wijeratne assassinated
COLOMBO. Mar 3: Ranjan Wijeratnc. the tough Sri Lankan minister who directed military operations against Tamil separatist guerillas and Sinhalese Marxist Rebels, was killed in a bomb blast in Colombo Saturday, reports Reuter.
A presidential office spokesman said Wijeratnc. Deputy Defence Minister and Plantations Industries Minister. was killed along with his bodyguard and driver when the car they were travelling in was blown to pieces.
"The three bodies were charred almost beyond recognition". said a military officer.
At least 30 other people were killed in the explosion which wrecked a bus. at least eight cars and about a dozen motorcycles in- Bambalapity. about three miles (five km) from the heart of the Sri Lankan capital.
Several houses and shops nearby were badly damaged.
Military sources said among the dead were four commandos of the minister's crack bodyguard unit, the Special
Task Force, who were following Wijeratne's car In two Jeeps. Six other commandos were Injured.
Police were unable to say immediately who was responsible.
They said Tamil separatist guerillas, Sinhalese Marxist rebels or even casino owners whose alleged Illegal activities he was .investigating, might have been responsible.
Later reports from the Colombo General Hospital said at least 30 people were killed and 50 injured.
The blast occurred at 8.30 am as people were rushing to work.
Normally at this time this part of the road is full of cars with people going to work and children going to school.
The day being a Saturday, traffic was comparatively thin, otherwise the casualties would have been much higher, a police officer at the scene said.
Police sealed off the road as ambulances rushed the injured to hospitals in the city.
The blast was so powerful that parts of bodies were scattered several yards away and the hood of one car rested on overhead electricity wires about 35 feet (12 metres) above the road.
AP adds: the bomb that killed Wijeratne and others was most likely exploded by Tamil rebels who planned the attack for a long time, police said Sunday.
Right now 90 per cent of our suspicion is that the attack was carried out by the (guerillas). The balance 10 per cent will cover the minister's
the government's ongoing of-othcr enemies. " a senior police official said.
Police said about 50 kilograms (120 pounds) of explosives were planted tn a parked car and detonated by remote control when the minster's car passed on way to his office.
We figure the whole attack was planned during a long period of time and the persons involved would have moved into the area during this time, the official said.
He said a massive investigation. one of the largest ever conducted in the countiy. has been launched. He refused to give details.
Scores of people have been detained for questioning but no one has been arrested, he said.
No one has claimed rc-sponstbility but police said the type of explosives used was similar to that used by the dominant Tamil militia, the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam. The group has been fighting' since 1983 to set up a separate nation In Sri Lanka's north and the east.
Wijeratne. 60. was leading fensive In the north and the east against the Tamil Tigers.
A Tiger spokesman. Satha-sivam Krishnakumar. however, said Saturday he does not know if his group was responsible.
-Residents tn areas 10 kilometers (6 miles) from the blast site said they heard the explosion. Objects in houses 2 kilometers (1 mile) away were rocked by the blast, other residents said.