COLOMBO—A suicide bomb blast shook a building near the port in the Sri Lankan capital early on Friday, killing at least two people and wounding seven, bomb squad and military officials said.
The explosion occurred during a search and cordon operation by police in the quarter of Modhara, near the harbour that sits north of Colombo's financial district, aimed at flushing out Tamil Tiger rebels seeking to mount attacks in the capital.
"There was a suicide attack," the bomb squad officer said, asking not to be named in line with policy.
The military said it suspected the bomb was detonated by one or more rebels who believed they were about to be cornered.
"There was a search and cordon operation going on. Maybe before they were caught, they blew themselves up," said a military spokesman, again declining to be named.
Hospital officials said the seven wounded included three policemen and four civilians, one of them in a serious condition. The identities of the dead were unclear.
The separatist Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), who are seeking to carve out an independent state in north and east Sri Lanka, were not immediately available for comment.
The Tigers are blamed for a series of bombings in and around the capital in recent months, and are known for using suicide fighters in a war that has killed an estimated 70,000 people since 1983.
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