Key Sri Lankan Official Killed by Car Bomb

A car bomb exploded Saturday as the head of the government’s fight against Tamil separatists drove by, killing him and 18 other people, officials said. At least 73 people were injured.

The 120-pound bomb, planted in a parked car, went off as Deputy Defense Minister Ranjan Wijeratne drove to his office during the morning rush hour, said military officials, speaking on condition of anonymity.

There were no immediate claims of responsibility, but police said they suspected Tamil rebels, who are fighting to create an independent nation.

President Ranasinghe Premadasa visited the scene of the attack and ordered a full investigation. He appealed for peace and asked police to quell any backlash by the Sinhalese majority, his office said in a statement.

Witnesses said black smoke hung in the area after the loud explosion, which blasted a huge crater in the middle of the busy road that runs from residential suburbs to the city center.

The minister’s white Mercedes Benz, his three police escort jeeps, a private bus and two other vehicles were wrecked and charred by the blast, witnesses said.

Military officials said at least 16 people, including Wijeratne and five of his bodyguards, died immediately. Three people died in the hospital, and 73 others were being treated for shrapnel injuries.

The government announced that Wijeratne, a 60-year-old Sinhalese, had been posthumously promoted to the rank of a general in the army and would be given a state funeral Wednesday.

Sathasivan Krishnakumar, a rebel spokesman based in London, said he did not know if his group was responsible.

The rebel group, the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam, in the past has claimed responsibility for two bomb attacks in the city. The blasts were followed by attacks on Tamils in Colombo, a Sinhalese-dominated city.

Tamil militants have been fighting for independence since 1983, claiming that their community is discriminated against by the Sinhalese, who make up 75% of the population and control the government and the military.

Tamils make up 18% of the country’s 16 million people. At least 14,000 people have been killed since the rebels began their campaign, officials said.