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Sri Lankan Blast Kills 26

Ceasefire ends as at least 60 wounded in bus attack

By Lucas Laursen,  Newser Staff

Posted Jan 16, 2008 8:42 AM CST

(Newser) – At least 26 people were killed and 60 injured after an explosion ripped through a packed bus today in Buttala, Sri Lanka. The bombing was followed by gunfire, which medical workers said was responsible for many of the dead. The attack came as the government abandoned an ineffectual ceasefire with the rebel Tamil Tigers. A second bomb later damaged an armored carrier in the same region and injured three soldiers.

The bomb attacks occurred further south than most violence on the island, marking a dramatic new strategy by the rebels. More than 30 people have died in the last two weeks of the ceasefire, which expired today. Some 5,000 have been killed since the ceasefire began in 2000.

Sri Lankan security personnel inspect a civilian bus which was struck by a bomb blast in Buttala, 240 kilometers (150 miles) southeast of Colombo, Sri Lanka, Wednesday, Jan. 16, 2008. A roadside bomb ripped through a packed civilian bus Wednesday, killing 23 people in southeastern Sri Lanka as the government...
Sri Lankan security personnel inspect a civilian bus which was struck by a bomb blast in Buttala, 240 kilometers (150 miles) southeast of Colombo, Sri Lanka, Wednesday, Jan. 16, 2008. A roadside bomb...   (Associated Press)
Head of the Sri Lankan Monitoring Mission Maj. Gen. Lars Johan Solvberg, right, looks on during a media conference in Colombo, Sri Lanka, Wednesday, Jan. 16, 2007. The mission created to oversee a 2002 cease-fire between the government and Tamil Tiger rebels, lost its mandate after the government announced last...
Head of the Sri Lankan Monitoring Mission Maj. Gen. Lars Johan Solvberg, right, looks on during a media conference in Colombo, Sri Lanka, Wednesday, Jan. 16, 2007. The mission created to oversee a 2002...   (Associated Press)
Map locates Buttala, Sri Lanka, where a bomb hit a civilian bus killing at least twenty-six.
Map locates Buttala, Sri Lanka, where a bomb hit a civilian bus killing at least twenty-six.   (Associated Press)
Sri Lankan security personnel stand near a civilian bus which was struck by a bomb blast in Buttala, 150 miles southeast of Colombo, Sri Lanka, Wednesday, Jan. 16, 2008. A roadside bomb ripped through the packed civilian bus Wednesday, killing some 26 people in southeastern Sri Lanka as the government...
Sri Lankan security personnel stand near a civilian bus which was struck by a bomb blast in Buttala, 150 miles southeast of Colombo, Sri Lanka, Wednesday, Jan. 16, 2008. A roadside bomb ripped through...   (Associated Press)
Unidentified relatives of victims of a bomb blast wail at a hospital in Buttala, 150 miles southeast of Colombo, Sri Lanka, Wednesday, Jan. 16, 2008. A roadside bomb ripped through a packed civilian bus Wednesday, killing some 26 people in southeastern Sri Lanka as the government officially withdrew from a...
Unidentified relatives of victims of a bomb blast wail at a hospital in Buttala, 150 miles southeast of Colombo, Sri Lanka, Wednesday, Jan. 16, 2008. A roadside bomb ripped through a packed civilian bus...   (Associated Press)
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