Two Tamil Tiger planes sent on a raid over the Sri Lankan capital were on a suicide mission, rebels said today.

A female suicide bomber disguised as an office worker blew herself up in the heart of Colombo today, killing one person in an apparent attempt to assassinate a Sri Lankan government minister, the military said.

A suicide bomber targeted a convoy of vehicles carrying Sri Lanka’s defence secretary and other security officials in the capita Colombo today, wounding at least 14 people, the military and a hospital official said.

Police arrested the driver and conductor of a bus which collided with a train today, as it dashed through a railway crossing in Sri Lanka, killing at least 35 people and injuring another 60.