(2nd lead)Bomb explosion targets Police bus in Colombo

A three-wheeler fitted with a bomb rammed into a bus carrying riot control police, few hundred meters away from the Sri Lankan Presidential Secretariat, Friday noon, killing at least 6 police personnel and injuring around 90 people, including policemen. The explosion has taken place on Lotus Road inside the High Security area near Hilton Hotel.

The police personnel were on their way to provide additional security as the swearing-in ceremony of the Eastern Province Chief Minister, postponed yesterday, was to take place as scheduled on Friday at 4:00 p.m.

Sivanesathurai Chandrakanthan alias Pillaiyan, the de-facto leader of the paramilitary-cum-political party, the TMVP, was scheduled to be sworn in as the Chief Minister of the Eastern Province.

Eight killed in Sri Lanka blast

At least eight policemen have been killed in a suicide bomb attack in Sri Lanka's capital Colombo, the army says. More than 70 people were hurt when a man on a motorcycle rammed into a bus carrying policemen near a five-star hotel in the central business district. The army has blamed Tamil Tiger rebels for the attack. Fighting between the Tamil Tigers, who are seeking an independent state, and the army has worsened this year after the government pulled out of a truce. 'Like an earthquake' The blast happened near the Hilton Hotel and a twin-tower commercial building. Ekanjith Rawwalage, head of customer services at the hotel, told BBC News that the blast happened around 1230 local time (0700 GMT) near a police checkpoint outside the hotel. "It was a loud explosion. It felt like an earthquake," said Mr Rawwalage. He said some window panes of the hotel had been damaged by the explosion. He said all the guests were safe and the hotel gates had been shut. Mr Rawwalage said he had seen ambulances rushing the injured to the hospital. The area is also the site of the official residence of Sri Lanka's president and has been targeted in the past by Tamil Tiger rebels. The Tigers have fought for a generation for an independent state for the Tamil minority. About 70,000 people have been killed since the civil war began in 1983.