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Three persons were on Monday killed and 15 others, including children, were injured when a suspected Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam suicide bomber blew himself up in Colombo, Sri Lanka.
The incident took place near a function that Prime Minister Ratnasiri Wickremankayake was to attend in the run-up to the December 5 parliamentary polls.
Police said the bomber detonated explosives strapped to his body when security forces confronted him, killing himself, a policeman and two civilians.
The suspected rebel was spotted in the vicinity of a function in which Wickremanayake was to participate. He had wandered away after finding the security too tight, the police said.
After being followed for about 200 yards, he was stopped in a lane for a body search by policemen, but he activated the explosives strapped to his body, they said.
A van carrying school kids and a couple of other vehicles were damaged.
Wounded children and passers-by were rushed to hospital, where five injured policemen were also admitted.
The condition of five of those wounded was reported to be critical.
PTI
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