By DPA
Colombo : A bomb fitted to a motorcycle exploded as a bus carrying soldiers passed by in Sri Lanka's capital Thursday near the harbour, injuring six people, a military spokesman said.
Though first reports said a suicide bomber was to blame, it is now confirmed that the bomb was fitted to a motorcycle parked on the roadside and triggered by remote control, said military spokesman Brigadier Prasad Samarasinghe.
Four of the injured were soldiers and two are in critical condition, he said.
The blast, blamed on the Tamil Tigers, occurred at 9 a.m. on Reclamation Road adjoining the Colombo harbour during rush hour, but only a few civilian vehicles were close to the site, police said.
Police said the motorcycle on which the bomb was planted was burnt completely while three other motorcycles and a car were damaged.
The Colombo bombing occurred just hours after Tamil Tiger rebel boats attacked a navy base off northern Jaffna peninsula before dawn Thursday, killing an undetermined number of sailors.
At least 12 boats of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) made an attempt to land on Delft island, 410 km north of Colombo, but the navy prevented them from infiltrating the base, a navy spokesman said.