Sri Lanka rebels bomb army bus, 4 dead - officials

Sri Lankan soldiers stand guard near a damaged military bus after a bomb explosion in Colombo, January 2, 2008. Tamil Tiger rebels bombed an army bus in the Sri Lankan capital on Wednesday killing four people and wounding 21, military and hospital officials said, the latest in a series of attacks as renewed civil war deepens.

COLOMBO (Reuters) - Tamil Tiger rebels bombed an army bus in the Sri Lankan capital on Wednesday killing four people and wounding 21, military and hospital officials said, the latest in a series of attacks as renewed civil war deepens.

The rebels set off a roadside bomb outside a modest hotel in area of Colombo where the army and air force headquarters are both located, the military said.

"There was a Claymore (mine) attack targeting an army bus carrying troops," a military official at the scene told Reuters, asking not to be named in line with policy.

"It's definitely an LTTE Claymore," he added referring to the type of explosive device military analysts say are a hallmark of attacks by the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE).

He said there were "about 11 soldiers" on board the bus at the time.

The Tigers were not immediately available for comment on the blast, but routinely deny involvement in attacks.

The blast is the latest in a series of attacks on military installations and buses carrying troops blamed on the rebels in recent months, and comes as the state and Tigers fight near daily land and sea clashes mainly in the north of the island.

Well over 5,000 people have been killed in fighting between the foes since early 2006, taking the death toll since the war erupted in 1983 to around 70,000.

While the military has captured vast swathes of territory from the rebel in the island's east, analysts say there is no clear winner on the horizon and fear the war could grind on for years.