COLOMBO, Sri Lanka, Aug. 14 (UPI) -- Police in Sri Lanka rounded up 14 people Sunday in connection with the assassination of the foreign minister, CNN reports.
Lakshman Kardirgamar was killed by a sniper Friday night and died in a Colombo hospital.
The government suspects the 14 people detained are connected with the Tamil Tigers rebel group, on whom they blame the assassination.
On a Web site, the Tamil group has denied involvement and claimed the killing was an inside job.
A cease-fire agreement, already strained between the government and the Tigers who want a separate nation for ethnic Sinhalese, is now further threatened.
Police are using their state of emergency powers to conduct house to house raids.
Two people detained are owners of what is believed to be the location used by the sniper.
A funeral for Kardirgamar is scheduled Monday in Colombo's Independence Square.
