Military

DATE=10/19/00

TYPE=CORRESPONDENT REPORT

TITLE=Sri Lanka Bomb Update (L&S)

NUMBER=2-268148

BYLINE=Jim Teeple

DATELINE=Colombo

CONTENT=

VOICED AT:

//Editors This CR updates CR 2-268139 with a new intro and all references to "american tourists" removed. Please update casualty numbers in the intro.//

INTRO: In Sri Lanka -- a suicide bomber has set off an explosion, killing himself and two others and injuring more than 20 people. As V-O-A's Jim Teeple reports from Colombo, police officials say at at least two U-S citizens were injured in the blast, which occurred as Sri Lanka's new cabinet was being sworn in, Thursday.

TEXT: Police say the man was acting suspiciously on a road being used by cabinet members going to swearing-in ceremonies at President Chandrika Kumaratunga's residence.

After the man starting running, a second police patrol intercepted him. Police say he then detonated explosives strapped to his body. Police say the bomber was a member of the Tamil Tiger separatist group, although there has been no official claim of responsibility for the blast. The blast occurred near the city's town hall -- less than two kilometers from the president's residence.

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The blast took place as President Chandrika Kumaratunga's cabinet was being sworn in. The president's Peoples' Alliance coalition won the most seats in last week's parliament election and has formed a coalition government with the help of smaller Muslim and Tamil parties. (Signed)

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