Sri Lanka

10 killed in suicide attack in Sri Lanka

10 killed in suicide attack in Sri LankaColombo, Mar 10 : At least ten people were killed and 20 others, including Cabinet Minister Mahinda Wijesekara, injured in a suicide attack near a mosque here on Tuesday.

According to defence ministry sources, the suicide attack by a suspected LTTE bomber occurred during a ceremony to mark Eid-e-Milad-ud-Nabi, the birth anniversary of Prophet Mohammad, near the mosque in the Akuresha area in Matara.

All injured, including Wijesekara, were rushed to a local hospital.

Former rebel leader joins Sri Lankan government

Former rebel leader joins Sri Lankan government Colombo  - A former Tamil rebel military leader in eastern Sri Lanka has joined the ruling party and been named a government minister, local newspapers said Tuesday.

Vinayagamoorthy Muralitharna, also known as "Colonel Karuna," was sworn as minister of National Integration and Reconciliation at a ceremony presided over by President Mahinda Rajapaksa Monday night, the state-run Daily News said.

Muralitharan and about 2,000 of his followers joined Rajapaksa's Sri Lanka Freedom Party, which leads the coalition government, the newspaper said.

Security was reduced in Lahore, says Lanaka coach Bayliss

Security was reduced in Lahore, says Lanaka coach BaylissSydney, Mar. 10: Sri Lanka cricket team coach Trevor Bayliss claimed on Tuesday that security was less than it had been on previous occasions in Pakistan.

“It was certainly less than when were there for the Asia Cup in July the year before and when we there for the one-day series only a month before (the attack) and probably different between Lahore (second Test) and (the first Test in) Karachi,'''' Fox Sports quoted an angry Bayliss, as saying.

Report: Sri Lankan attack mastermind escapes police raid in Pakistan

Sri Lankan attack mastermind escapes police raid in PakistanIslamabad - The suspected mastermind of last week's terrorist attacks on the Sri Lankan cricket team managed to flee when police raided his apartment in eastern city of Lahore on Monday, according to a television report said.

Mohammad Aqeel, a member of an Islamic militant outfit, is believed to have planned the ambush on the convoy carrying Sri Lankan players to a stadium in Lahore last Tuesday. Eight people, including six policemen, died and seven members of the cricket team were injured in the attack.

ROUNDUP: Sri Lankan military claims over 200 rebels killed

Sri Lankan military claims over 200 rebels killed Colombo  - Sri Lankan government troops Monday claimed to have killed at least 200 Tamil rebels and recovered 150 bodies during fierce fighting over the past five days.

The Defence Ministry in a statement said heavy fighting broke out last Thursday in parts of Mullaitivu district, 390 kilometres north- east of the capital Colombo, which represent the last remaining areas held by the rebels.

The army has thrown in special forces and commando troops and has seized a large haul of weapons in its operations, the Defence Ministry added.

Jayalalithaa accuses DMK and UPA for attack on Tamils in Sri Lanka

JayalalithaaChennai, Mar 9 : Former Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Jayalalithaa, who heads the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK), accused United Progressive Alliance (UPA) and the Tamil Nadu Government for the genocidal attack on Tamils in Sri Lanka.

Jayalalithaa expressed these views in Chennai on Monday while addressing the media at a spot where she and her party volunteers undertook hunger strike as a mark of protest against Sri Lankan atrocities on Tamilians.

Pages