Bomb rips through bus full of elderly pilgrims in Sri Lanka

A bomb tore through a packed bus carrying mostly elderly Buddhist pilgrims today in central Sri Lanka, killing at least 18 people and wounding 51 others, the military said.

The blast inside the bus occurred at 7am in Dambulla, a town about 150km (90 miles) north-east of the capital, Colombo, said military spokesman Brigadier Udaya Nanayakkara, blaming separatist Tamil Tiger rebels.