COLOMBO, Jan 8: A Sri Lankan government minister was killed on Tuesday in a powerful roadside bomb attack by suspected Tamil Tiger rebels near an international airport here, officials said.

President Mahinda Rajapakse condemned the assassination of D. M. Dassanayake, the 51-year-old minister for nation building, and vowed to step up efforts to fight terrorism.

“This sad event is a further reminder of the need to redouble our efforts to rid our country of terrorism and the use of violence to achieve political ends,” the president said in a statement.

Dassanayake suffered severe head injuries and died while undergoing surgery, said doctor Lalini Gunasekera at the Ragama hospital, just outside Colombo.

The defence ministry said the minister’s personal bodyguard was also killed and 10 others were wounded in the attack, the second roadside bombing in a week.

Fighting has also been escalating in the north of the island since the government announced it was pulling out of a truce with the Tigers.

The bombing came as the air force carried out another raid inside territory controlled by the LTTE.

Tens of thousands of people have died in the 35-year-old conflict, one of Asia’s longest-running wars.—AFP