Claymore mine blast near Colombo; 2 injured

The explosion comes ahead of the crucial Sri Lankan government-LTTE talks in Oslo on June 8, reports PK Balachandran.

Even as the Sri Lankan government and the LTTE were preparing for talks in Oslo on June 8, a claymore mine blast damaged a public transport bus and injured two persons at Ragama, 11 km north of Colombo on Tuesday.

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Military spokesman Brig Prasad Samarasinghe said that the blast occurred at 4.45 am near the navy camp at Ragama.

According to Tamilnet, the blast site was only 50 metres from the navy camp.

The bus, which was caught in the blast, belonged to the state-run Ceylon Transport Board.

The driver and the conductor were injured, Brig Samarasinghe said.

This is the first time that a claymore mine blast has occurred so near the capital city of Colombo.

Ragama is not far from Katunayake, which has Sri Lanka's most important air force base, and its only international airport.

Brig. Samarasinghe blamed the LTTE for the attack and said that the terrorists might have wanted to show that they could strike near a navy camp close to Colombo and "get some publicity".

Or the attack could have been an unsuccessful attempt to target a navy bus, he added.