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Sri Lanka blast kills 1, wounds 3

  • Story Highlights
  • Bomb on a highway median strip in Colombo kills one, police say
  • Blast injures three other people
  • Police say a beggar detonated the device when he picked up a parcel
  • More than 180 people killed in attacks since the start of the year
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From Iqbal Athas
CNN
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COLOMBO, Sri Lanka (CNN) -- A bomb on a highway median strip in Sri Lanka's capital Colombo killed one person and wounded another three early Monday, police said.

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Police check identity papers in Colombo amid heightened security in the capital.

Police blamed the Tamil Tiger rebel movement for the blast, which occurred about 7 a.m. Monday (1:30 a.m. GMT) in the southern district of Wellawatte.

A beggar detonated the device when he tried to pick up what appeared to be a parcel left on the median strip, police said.

The bombing is the latest to hit Sri Lanka since the government's January withdrawal from a cease-fire with the Tamil Tigers. The rebel group has fought for an independent Tamil homeland in northern Sri Lanka for more than two decades.

More than 180 people have been killed in a wave of attacks on buses, train stations and other public places since the start of the year. E-mail to a friend E-mail to a friend

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