7TH LEAD (UPDATE)

14 killed, 103 wounded in Colombo train blast

[TamilNet, Sunday, 03 February 2008, 08:45 GMT]
Fourteen civilians, including 6 students of D.S. Senayakaye vidyalaya and a baseball teacher were killed and around 100 people wounded in a bomb explosion at the platform of Colombo Fort Railway station while Matara-Vavuniyaa train reached the 3rd platform the station, situated in the High Security Zone in Sri Lanka's capital Sunday at 2:10 p.m. All train services have been suspended, the Fort station was cordoned off and a search operation by the Sri Lankan armed forces was launched. The blast comes a day before Sri Lanka's 60th Independence Day celebrations amid speculations of Colombo embarking on a full fledged war on Vanni, stepping up aerial bombardment and artillery barrage.

The Fort Railway station is situated within one kilometer of the location of independence celebration site in Galle Face.

Earlier in the morning an explosion was reported inside Colombo zoo where six persons, including a pregnant mother, sustained minor injuries, police said.



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