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Colombo  - At least 16 civilians, including six children, were killed in roadside claymore mine blast in a rebel-controlled area in northern Sri Lanka, Tamil rebels said Friday.

The blast went off when a van was passing Murikandy, 310 kilometres north of the capital, on Friday afternoon. It came as the funeral of a senior rebel member, who died of a heart attack on Tuesday, was taking place in the region.

Rebels said that the van was carrying civilians in the absence of a proper bus service in the area.

The rebels of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) blamed the army's deep penetration unit - a unit of the army which infiltrates rebel-controlled areas and carries out attacks.

Colombo  - Ten people, including eight police, were killed and 90 others injured in a bomb explosion when a suicide bomber drove a motorbike into a bus carrying police personnel in central Colombo, the Ministry of Defence reported.

The explosion went off near a security checkpoint on the road leading to the president's office within a high-security zone at noon (0630 GMT), army spokesman Brigadier Udaya Nanayakkara said.

It happened 150 metres away from the president's office. Two of those killed and many of the injured were civilians, said the defence ministry.

Colombo  - Sri Lanka President Mahinda Rajapaksa's party won Saturday's provincial el