The New Nation - Internet Edition

AFP, Colombo

A Tamil Tiger suicide bomber killed seven security personnel and a civilian at a base just outside Sri Lanka's capital on Sunday as troops mounted pressure on the rebels in the north, officials said.

The male bomber infiltrated the base of the Civil Defence Force near a market in Wattala, a suburb of the capital Colombo, a police official at the scene said.

"The suicide bomber managed to get through the first checkpoint and stage the bombing inside the CDF detachment," the officer said. "An officer and four men were killed on the spot."

The wounded were taken to the main hospital in Colombo as well as a nearby medical facility, doctors said.

Twenty people were taken to hospital, of whom three were dead on arrival.

Several vehicles at the nearby market had their windscreens shattered.

Military spokesman Brigadier Udaya Nanayakkara said military reinforcements were rushed to the area to step up security and help with the investigations.

It was the first attack near the capital since the Tigers were blamed for an abortive bombing against a government minister in early October when two bystanders were killed.

On October 22, the rebels used boats packed with explosives and manned by suicide bombers to target two merchant ships off the island's northern coast. Suicide bombings are a trade mark of the Tigers.

The bombing came as the guerrillas faced a massive Sri Lankan military offensive against their stronghold in the north of the island, their main political capital of Kilinochchi, 330 kilometres (206 miles) north of here.

Military officials said the air force carried out two bombing sorties against the Tigers near Kilinochchi on Sunday morning.