The death toll from a bomb that ripped through a bus outside the Sri Lankan capital rose to 26 on Saturday after two more passengers died of their injuries, police said.
The bomb exploded inside the overcrowded bus, blowing off its roof, as it pulled out of the Piliyandala terminal into rush-hour traffic on Friday.
“Two more passengers died in hospital and the number of people remaining in hospital this morning is 64,” a police spokesperson said.
The bus was jammed with office workers and schoolchildren returning from private classes, witnesses said.
The government blamed the rebel Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) for the attack and President Mahinda Rajapakse condemned the bombing.
The latest blast came as security forces and Tamil Tiger rebels were locked in fierce combat in the north of the country, where both sides were reported to have suffered heavy casualties.
A similar explosion in February wounded 18 bus passengers, while 28 people were killed in another bus blast in January.
The rebels have been fighting to carve out an independent homeland for the Tamil minority since 1972. Tens of thousands have died on both sides in the conflict in the Sinhalese-majority nation. – AFP