Colombo: At least three army soldiers were wounded when suspected Tamil Tiger rebels detonated yet another bomb this morning targeting a military troop carrier at Galge, a couple of kilometers away from the earlier blast, which killed 24 civilians and wounded 67 in the Southern Monaragala district, Defence Ministry sources here said.

LTTE terrorists detonated a claymore mine targeting an army vehicle at Galge on the Buttala-Kataragama road around 9.45 am local time.

Three soldiers suffered injuries in the explosion, the Defence Ministry said. The second blast took place barely a couple of hours after a powerful bomb went off inside a civilian passenger bus plying from Buttala to Okkampitiya this morning.

The death toll rose to 24 when one of the wounded civilian succumbed to injuries. According to the latest reports, with one of the wounded succumbing to injuries, 24 people have been killed and 67 injured in the (bus) attack.

Hospital sources said that 8 people among the wounded were in critical condition, the Defence Ministry said. Blaming the LTTE of targeting civilian bus the Defence Ministry said the bus was carrying a large number of school children at the time of the incident.

Quoting police sources in the area, the Defence Ministry said that the bomb had been placed inside the bus, adding that wounded passengers in the blast had been rushed to the Buttala and Monaragala national hospitals.

Presidential media director Chandrapala Liyanage told UNI over the phone that an additional medical team, comprising special doctors and supportive staff with necessary logistical supports had been rushed to the Monaragala district under a Presidential order to treat the blast wounds.

Meanwhile, the local government authorities have decided to close the schools temporarily in the Uva province following the twin blast in the morning. The twin explosion in Sri Lanka's South coincides with the official termination of the February 2002 Norwegian-brokered ceasefire agreement between the government of Sri Lanka and the Tamil Tiger rebels.

Source : UNI