Sri Lanka suicide bomb kills 26 including politician

By Ranga Sirilal

COLOMBO (Reuters) - A Sri Lankan suicide bomber killed 26 people at an ancient tourist town on Monday, including a popular retired army general who was the main opposition party's provincial leader.

The blast, immediately blamed by the government on the rebel Tamil Tigers, also injured at least 80 people, the military said.

The bomber struck during the opening of a new office for the opposition United National Party (UNP) in the north central town of Anuradhapura, 200 km north of the capital Colombo, attended by retired Major-General Janaka Perera.

"A suicide bomber went inside and exploded. My senior officer there said 22 people were killed, and among the dead were Janaka Perera and his wife," Deputy Inspector General K.P.P. Pathirana told Reuters. Hospital officials later raised the death toll to 26.

Last month Perera unsuccessfully ran to be North Central Province's chief minister, a powerful position that was seen as a stepping stone to help him challenge for his party's leadership.

The military said the blast was the latest carried out by the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), who are credited with perfecting suicide bombing during a 25-year war to establish a separate homeland for the country's Tamil minority.

"It was an LTTE suicide attack," military spokesman Brigadier Udaya Nanayakkara said.

The UNP said it was not sure who was responsible, but said Perera had been threatened by the LTTE and government allies including a breakaway Tiger faction that became a political party last year and has been accused of rights abuses.