COLOMBO, April 25: A bomb exploded in a bus in a Colombo suburb late Friday evening killing at least 25 civilians and injuring around 70 people, government officials said blaming the Tamil Tiger rebels for the attack.

The blast took place near the Piliayandala bus-stand, 17km southeast of Colombo, military and police officials confirmed.

Hospital sources said at least twenty passengers were killed instantly as panic prevailed in Colombo following the attack.

Military spokesman, Brigadier Udaya Nannayakkara was quick to blame the LTTE for the blast. The Tamil Tiger rebels have offered no formal comment on the latest attack targeting civilians in the South.

Two hours before the explosion another parcel bomb weighing about 5kg was found from another area placed near an army checkpoint, police sources said.

Meanwhile, two days after a failed offensive to capture the rebel held Mullativu region, the armed forces on Friday said it had taken control of a popular northern Catholic pilgrimage site. The church area in Madhu in north western Mannar has been taken over by the army after weeks of heavy battle, military sources said. Military sources said the rebels have been ousted from the area.

“There is no LTTE presence around the Madhu church territory and we have taken control of the area,” a military official said as controversy rages on the move by Tamil Catholic Bishops in Mannar to shift the famous Madhu statue of the Mother of Christ to LTTE controlled areas.

Meanwhile, in an unexpected move the Sri Lankan government has ordered the Army to immediately bar a celebrated former general from henceforth entering any military camp. The move comes after Major Gen. Janaka Perera’s public comments that the government’s deadlines to free the north from LTTE control were unrealistic.

Despite the new count of military casualties soaring to around 160 following Wednesday’s failed operation in the north, government and military officials Friday reiterated they would ‘liberate’ northern areas from LTTE control by end of the year.

“We will not let anyone to lower the morale of our valiant soldiers. We will win this war against terrorism,” government defence spokesman Keheliya Rambuwella said.