Sri Lanka

58 arrested after deadly bus blasts

Article published on the 2008-06-07 Latest update 2008-06-07 13:36 TU

The bombed bus in Kandy
(Photo: Reuters)

Police in Sri Lanka arrested 58 people in areas close to the sites of Friday's bomb attacks on rush-hour buses which killed 23 civilians but have released all but one. After house-to-house searches near the town of Moratuwa, south of Colombo, more than 50 people were taken in for questioning. One person was arrested in connection with the bombing in the central district of Kandy.

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Most of the detainees were picked up in Moratuwa, where 21 civilians were killed on Friday. The Kandy blast killed two passengers.

Correspondent Minelle Fernandez reports that only one suspect has been kept for further questioning, after the majority appeared in magistrates' courts on Saturday afternoon.

Colombo correspondent Minelle Fernandez

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07/06/2008 by Philip Turle

Sri Lankan newspapers report that many of those detained in house-to-house searches were university students belonging to the island's Tamil miniority.

Police have blamed bombings on the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) who are fighting for a Tamil homeland in the north and east. The guerrilla group has not commented on the bus bombs and has previously denied attacking civilians.