Colombo: Sri Lankan minister D M Dassanayake was on Tuesday killed in a powerful landmine attack on his convoy by suspected Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam militants near Colombo, just two days after the rebels' military intelligence chief was eliminated by security forces.

Dassanayake, 54, and 11 others were injured in the roadside bomb explosion at 10.35 am in Ja-Ela town, 19 km north of the capital. The Minister for Nation Building 'succumbed to his injuries at the hospital' two hours after the attack, military spokesman Udaya Nanayakhara told PTI.

"We strongly suspect the hand of the LTTE in this attack," he said. Two of the injured were also in the Intensive Care Unit.

Violence has escalated in the strife-torn country following the government's decision to scrap a tattered 2002 ceasefire agreement, with the LTTE vowing to 'demonstrate' its 'military strength'.

The LTTE's military intelligence chief 'Colonel' Charles was killed by the Sri Lankan army in northwestern Mannar on January 5 while former minister and opposition Tamil lawmaker T Maheswaran was shot dead at a temple in Colombo on New Year.

Source : PTI