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Minister escapes suspected LTTE assassination bid

INT50International/TerrorismMinister escapes suspected LTTE assassination bidColombo, Oct 9 IANS A Sri Lankan cabinet minister Thursday escaped an assassination attempt by a suspected Tamil Tiger suicide bomber on the outskirts of Colombo that left one of his guards dead. Military spokesman Brigadier Udaya Nanayakkara said the suicide bomber blew himself up targeting the motorcade of Agricultural Development Minister Maithiripala Sirisena at a traffic junction at Boralasgamuwa, about 10 km east of Colombo, around 1.15 p.m."Luckily the minister's vehicle escaped the blast and the minister has escaped unharmed. But one of his security back-up vehicles got caught in the blast. One security person got killed and three were wounded in the blast," Brig. Nanayakkara told IANS. Minister Sirisena is also the general secretary of the ruling Sri Lanka Freedom Party SLFP led by President Mahinda Rajapaksa. The blast took place barely an hour before the arrival of Palestine President Mahmoud Abbas on a two-day official visit to Colombo. President Abbas is scheduled to hold talks with Rajapaksa and government ministers.--Indo-Asian News Servicekaru/mr 190 Words*09101449