COLOMBO, Sri Lanka, Dec. 28 (UPI) -- A suicide bomber detonated his explosives at a military checkpoint in Sri Lanka Sunday, killing at least eight people and injuring 17, authorities said.
Army Brig. Udaya Nanayakkara said officials suspect the bomber was a member of the Tamil Tiger rebel organization, Lanka Pages reported.
An army officer and several soldiers were killed in the attack in Wattala, a suburb of the Sri Lankan capital, Colombo. Some civilians were among the wounded.
Heavy ground battles between government troops and rebel fighters raged elsewhere in northeastern Sri Lanka, Lanka Pages said. The Tamil Tigers claimed on their Web site that more than 60 government soldiers had been killed but Nanayakkara put the number at nine.
Defense sources said Tamil Tiger communications indicated the rebels had sustained significant losses but numbers were not provided, Lanka Pages said.
