The New Nation - Internet Edition

AFP, Colombo

At least 38 people were killed in suicide bombing and fighting in Sri Lanka.

At least nine people were killed and 90 others wounded Friday in a Tamil Tiger suicide bombing near the official residence of Sri Lanka's president in the capital Colombo, officials said.

Military spokesman Brigadier Udaya Nanayakkara said seven police officers and two civilians-plus the attacker-died in the massive blast, which was heard across the city.

"Many civilians" were among those hurt and some were in a critical condition, he added.

"A motorbike carrying an LTTE (Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam) suicide bomber rammed into a bus carrying police personnel," Nanayakkara said.

The attack occurred outside a Buddhist temple in the Fort area of Colombo's commercial district, a high security zone surrounded by military and police checkposts.

The area is home to the official residence of the island's hawkish President Mahinda Rajapakse, the five-star Hilton Hotel and the twin-tower World Trade Centre office complex-a previous target of the LTTE. Security forces quickly sealed off the area. The attack came amid a mounting government offensive against the Tamil Tigers' de facto mini-state in the north of the island.

The government pulled out of a Norwegian-brokered truce in January, and has claimed to have inflicted massive casualties on the rebels so far this year. Rajapakse's government was scheduled later Friday to swear in the winners of last weekend's key council elections in the east of the island, which were won by the president's ruling coalition and an allied party made up of LTTE defectors.

The polls were heralded by the government as a sign they were establishing firm control over the multi-ethnic east, which prior to heavy fighting last year was home to several LTTE enclaves. The island's opposition, however, has contested the polls as marred by intimidation and ballot box stuffing by the Tamil Tiger defectors, known as the Tamil People's Liberation Tigers (TMVP). There was no immediate comment from the LTTE on the bombing, although the pro-rebel TamilNet.com website said it targetted police travelling to provide security for the swearing-in ceremony.

TamilNet.com also said the TMVP's leader, who goes by the nom de guerre of Pillaiyan, was also scheduled to have been sworn in as the new chief minister of the east. Sources said the ceremony would likely be postponed.

Earlier this week Prime Minister Ratnasiri Wickremanayake ruled out returning to a ceasefire with the LTTE, and said "victory is within the grasp of our heroic security forces." Wickremanayake also said Tiger rebel chief Velupillai Prabhakaran's days were "numbered."

Colombo has poured a record 1.5 billion dollars into the war effort this year, hoping for a quick end to a conflict that has left tens of thousands dead since 1972.

Meanwhile, Sri Lankan fighter jets pounded two Tamil Tiger rebel bases deep in the northern jungles, and infantry clashes killed 27 rebels and two government soldiers, the military said Friday.

The planes bombed a base of the Sea Tigers, the rebels' naval wing, in their de facto state in the north early Friday, said air force spokesman Wing Commander Andy Wijesuriya. Another airstrike on a rebel military base in the guerrilla stronghold of Mullaitivu took place overnight, he said.

Wijesuriya did not give details of casualties or damage, but said "pilots have confirmed they hit the target accurately."

The latest infantry clashes erupted Thursday in the Vavuniya, Mannar and Jaffna regions, bordering the rebels' turf, said a Defense Ministry official, speaking on condition of anonymity in line with military regulations.

The worst fighting was reported in Vavuniya, where 18 rebels and one soldier were killed. Six guerrillas were killed in the nearby Mannar district while other fighting in Jaffna and Welioya killed three rebels and one soldier, he said.

Rebel spokesman Rasiah Ilanthirayan was not available for immediate comment.

It was not possible to independently verify the military's claims because reporters are not allowed in the war zone. The two sides are known to exaggerate their enemies' casualties while underreporting their own.

The Tamil Tigers have fought since 1983 to create an independent homeland for minority ethnic Tamils, who have been marginalized by successive governments controlled by majority Sinhalese. More than 70,000 people have been killed in the violence.