/asia
COLOMBO, Sri Lanka (CNN) -- A Sri Lankan government minister narrowly escaped injury Thursday when a suicide bomber in a car detonated explosives, police said.
File image of Maithripala Sirisena taken in May, 2007.
Two of the minister's bodyguards were hurt in the blast, which occurred in a southern suburb of the capital city, Colombo.
The minister, Maithripala Sirisena, heads the agriculture department. He is also the secretary of the Sri Lanka Freedom Party, a partner in the ruling coalition.
Authorities blamed the attack on Tamil Tigers rebels.
The fighting in Sri Lanka pits government forces in a country dominated by the Sinhalese ethnic group against rebels from the Tamil minority.
The rebels, formally known as the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam, are fighting for the creation of an independent nation, citing discrimination by the Sinhalese.
On Monday, a suicide bombing blamed on rebels killed at least 27 people, including a prominent politician and his wife. Another 60 were wounded.
That bombing took place in Anuradhapura, the capital of Sri Lanka's North Central province.
All About Sri Lanka • Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam
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