Sri Lanka bombing kills nine, 27 wounded

A bomber appearing as a pregnant woman blew herself up near military headquarters in Colombo, Sri Lanka killing at least nine people.


Sri Lanka forces stand watch as helicopters fly overhead in Colombo (Feb. 4, 2006). Reuters photo from Yahoo News

The blast further brought a 2002 ceasefire near the brink as government aircraft attacked rebel positions of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam.

Violence escalated recently in the most serious challenge to the Norway-mediated truce.

The Tamil Tigers are fighting for a homeland in Tamil-dominated areas. They claim that the original inhabitants of the country, the Naga kingdom, were related to present-day Tamils.

Many Sinhalis, the majority population, claim that Tamils came only in relatively recent times, mostly during the medieval period.

Sri Lanka defends strikes against Tigers


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