Suicide bomber sets off explosion in Sri Lanka

The bomber died on the spot and 23 people were wounded, including three officers and the three Americans, said Dr. Hector Weerasinghe, director of the National Hospital. He said two of the American women received minor injuries but he was worried about the third, who had a chest wound. The U.S. Embassy confirmed three Americans were injured, but gave no details.

The bomber triggered explosives wrapped on his body after a police patrol challenged him near the Town Hall area about a mile (1.6 kilometers) from President Chandrika Kumaratunga's residence, Temple Trees.

The bomber triggered explosives wrapped on his body after a police patrol challenged him near Town Hall, about two kilometers (1.2 miles) from Temple Trees, Kumaratunga's residence. Kumaratunga's People's Alliance won Oct. 10 parliamentary elections and the Cabinet installation was to have taken place Thursday at her home, which she seldom leaves because of assassination fears. She was blinded in the right eye by a suicide bomber on Dec. 18.

However, the ceremony was moved to Queen's House, Kumaratunga's normally vacant official residence, which is about three kilometers (1.8 miles) from the blast site. No reason was given for the last-minute change of venue.

Plainclothes officers spotted the man "moving in a suspicious manner" near a Buddhist temple on a road that some Cabinet members were using to reach the ceremony, said police spokesman Rienzie Perera. "He was first questioned and then he started running."

Another patrol chased and stopped him, and he set off the explosion, Perera said. Kumaratunga's People's Alliance won the most seats in Oct. 10 parliamentary elections and formed a new government. Parliament convened Wednesday and the Cabinet was being installed Thursday.

The government is engaged in a war against rebels who have fought since 1983 to carve out a homeland for the Tamil minority in the north and east. The rebels are accused of frequent bombing attacks in the capital, including a suicide bombing last December that blinded Kumaratunga in her right eye. The rebels, outlawed in Sri Lanka, the United States and India, usually do not claim responsibility for suicide bombings, but acknowledge having a suicide bombing unit

(AP)