Sri Lanka suicide attack kills 15

At least 15 people were killed and another 60 wounded on Tuesday in a suicide bomb attack in southern Sri Lanka that has been blamed on Tamil Tiger rebels.

The attacker targeted politicians attending a mosque ceremony in the town of Akuressa, and came as the ethnic rebels continue to lose ground in the face of a fierce government offensive on their shrinking northeast base.

Postal Services Minister Mahinda Wijesekera was wounded in the head and airlifted to Colombo for emergency treatment, a spokeswoman for the National Hospital in the capital said. (AFP)