Lankan minister escapes suicide blast

A minister in the Sri Lankan cabinet had escaped unhurt after a suspected female suicide bomber of the LTTE blew herself up near his convoy in the outskirts of the Capital, reports Sutirtho Patranobis.

A minister in the Sri Lankan cabinet had escaped unhurt after a suspected female suicide bomber of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) blew herself up near his convoy in the outskirts of the Capital on Thursday.

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But one civilian was killed in the explosion, which also left seven others, including a deputy minister, injured. One among the injured is critical, the defence ministry said.

The defence ministry added that the attack was carried out on the convoy of Maithripala Sirisena, minister of agricultural development and agrarian services development. Sirisena is also former general secretary of the Sri Lanka Freedom Party.

Deputy Minister of Agrarian Services Siripala Gamlath was injured in the explosion.

The attack was carried out at the Pirivena junction in the area of Boralasgamuwa, which is in the suburbs of Colombo, around 1-15 p.m.