By DPA
Colombo : At least eight people were injured Sunday in a grenade explosion inside the zoological garden here prompting authorities to close it down, the police said.
The explosion went off inside the zoo at Dehiwala, five km away from Colombo, causing panic among hundreds of visitors.
The police said it was unclear who was responsible for the attack.
The incident occurred a day after 20 civilians were killed by a parcel bomb inside a bus in Dambulla, 148 km north of the capital. At least 50 others were injured in that incident. The Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) rebels were blamed for the attack.
Security in the capital has been stepped up as the country is marking the 60th anniversary Feb 4 of its independence from British rule with a military parade presided over by President Mahinda Rajapaksa.