Suicide boats attack harbour in Sri Lanka

COLOMBO - At least four people were killed and 11 wounded in a major suicide bombing against Sri Lanka's southern naval and commercial port of Galle.

Suspected Tamil Tiger rebels entered Galle Harbour in boats and at least three rebels and a sailor were killed. "They came in three boats and we blew all three of them. Two small patrol crafts of the Navy were damaged in the fighting," a Navy spokesman said.

Another senior military officer said there were three explosions within minutes when the attack began. He said there were five rebel boats and two of them detonated on entering the base.

Residents said they heard 10 powerful explosions as well as heavy gunfire.

The attack on the Dakshina naval base is the second in three days. Nearly 100 people, mostly sailors, were killed in a suicide bombing on a naval convoy on Monday.

News of the raid sparked rioting in Galle, with shops belonging to the minority Tamil community targeted by the majority Sinhalese.

Galle is about 113km south of the capital, Colombo, far from the northern and eastern strongholds of the rebels where much of the violence has been concentrated. It was hit by the 2004 tsunami and has been the focus of reconstruction efforts by many aid groups.

- REUTERS