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Most of the 27 people killed in a bus ambush were shot by rebels as passengers tried to flee, rather than in the blast that struck the vehicle, says Sri Lanka's military.
The attack early yesterday came as a six-year truce between the state and rebels formally ended. It paves the way for what analysts forecast will be a military push for the Tigers' northern stronghold and a bloody escalation in a 25-year civil war.
The Tigers routinely deny involvement. A military spokesman said nine children were among the wounded, including a month-old baby, in the attack around 240km east of the capital, Colombo.
The raid, in Buttala, was the latest in a series of roadside bomb attacks blamed on rebels fighting for an independent state.
President Mahinda Rajapaksa said: "This is a brazen demonstration of the Tigers' unchanged commitment to terrorism."
- REUTERS
