Colombo: Unidentified gunmen opened fire at the house of Sri Lanka's Commerce Minister on July 8 and escaped with a handgun after wounding a lone security guard, police officials said.

Minister Ravi Karunanayake was away in London attending trade talks when the attack took place, police said.

Officers have been to the house and began an investigation into the incident, they said.

"We are going on the basis that it is a politically motivated attack. We are yet to make an arrest, but we have some inkling about the identity of at least one man involved in the incident," an official said.

The incident is an embarrassment to police, as it took place near the tightly guarded Sri Lankan Parliament building in a high security area.

Police said the attackers travelled in two vehicles and stole a handgun and ammunition from the security guard who was wounded in the pre-dawn attack.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the shooting.

There has been a spate of politically motivated killings in and around the capital in recent months.

PTI