& çâÌæÚUæð´ ·¤è ¥ôÚU Îð¹Ùæ ÁæÚUè ÚU¹ð´ ¥ÍæüÌ ¥ÂÙð ÜÿØ ÂÚU ŠØæÙ ÚU¹ð´Ð ãæÚU Ù ×æÙð´, €UØô´ç·¤ ·¤æ× ·¤ÚUÙð âð ¥æÂ·¤ô ©gðàØ ·¤è Âýæç# ãôÌè ãñ ¥õÚU ÁèßÙ ·¤æ ¹æÜèÂÙ ÎêÚU ãôÌæ ãñÐ ÖÜð ãè ÁèßÙ ×ð´ ç·¤ÌÙè Öè ·¤çÆÙæ§ü €UØô´ Ù ¥æ°, çÁ™ææâæ ¥õÚU ©ˆâæã ÕÙæ° ÚU¹ð´Ð ŠØæÙ ÚU¹ð´, ÜÿØ ã×ðàææ ¥æÂ·Ô¤ Âæâ ãôÌð ãñ´ çÁ‹ãð´ ÂæÙð ·Ô¤ çÜ° ÂýØæâ ¥æÂ ·¤Öè Öè àæéM¤ ·¤ÚU â·¤Ìð ãñ´Ð

Tamil Tigers' roadside bomb kills Lanka minister

AFP, Colombo
A Sri Lankan government minister was killed yesterday in a powerful roadside bomb attack by suspected Tamil Tiger rebels near the island's capital and international airport, officials said.
DM Dassanayake, the 51-year-old minister for nation building, suffered severe head injuries and died while undergoing surgery, said doctor Lalini Gunasekera at the Ragama hospital, just outside Colombo.
The defence ministry said the minister's personal bodyguard was also killed and 10 others were wounded in the attack, the second roadside bombing since the government abandoned a ceasefire with the rebels last week.
Fighting has also been escalating in the north of the island, with government jets carrying out fresh raids against theTigers' mini-state.
Police said a Claymore mine - a device packed with explosives and ball bearings -- was detonated as the minister's convoy passed the town of Ja-Ela.
"The minister was on his way to parliament when his white Toyota Land Cruiser vehicle was hit by a Claymore... his vehicle has been badly damaged." military spokesman Brigadier Udaya Nanayakkara
Dassanayake was notorious for his alleged underworld links and once attended parliament in handcuffs. having been allowed out of a remand prison to take part in a key debate.
It was not immediately clear if the minister was specifically targeted. or if the attackers may have tried to get a more senior politician using the same highway to travel to the capital, an official involved in the probe said.
"There are lots of theories on the
possible target, but what is clear is that it is the work of the Tigers," the official said, asking not to be named.
Sri Lankan police and security forces have been on high alert for Tamil Tiger attacks after the government announced last week it was pulling out of a tattered ceasefire agreement
The bombing came as the air force carried out another bombing raid inside territory controlled by the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE).
The military said that security-forces killed at least another 15 rebels in clashes since Monday, bringing to around 130 the number of rebels said to have been killed since the start of the month.
Independent verification of casualty figures is not possible as journalists are not allowed into rebel-held areas. Both sides are
FROM PAGE 16
known to make sharply varying casualty claims
On Sunday, security forces also conducted a major search operation in the entire Western province, which covers the capital and airport area --questioning tens of thousands of people and arrested nearly200.
The killing of the minister also came five days after a similar roadside bomb in Colombo targeted a military bus, killing five people. The authontics blamed the LITE for that attack
The Tigers are yet to formally respond to the government's decision to pull out of the truce. The rebels, however, have already said they believe peace talks with the island's ethnic Sinhalese majority are a waste of time.
The government now believes it has the upper hand over the rebels and is in a position to capture the north.
Tens of thousands of people have died in the 35-year-old conflict, one of Asia's longest- running wars.