A Sri Lankan suicide bomber has killed at least 26 people in the north central town of Anuradhapura, town including a popular retired army general.
At least 80 people were wounded in the blast, which the government immediately blamed on the rebel Tamil Tigers. The bombing comes as a military offensive reaches the edge of the Tigers' headquarters town of Kilinochchi, raising the prospect of the Tigers' losing the region they have held and ruled for years as a de facto state in the island's north.
Helen Long reports.
