4 Suspects in Sri Lankan Bombing Kill Themselves

COLOMBO, Sri Lanka — With anti-terrorist commandos closing in, four suspected Tamil Tiger rebels hiding in an apartment killed themselves Saturday after failing in an apparent bid to assassinate the country’s defense minister and armed forces chiefs.

The men appeared to have used explosives to blow themselves up just as security forces were preparing an assault on their hide-out, officials said. The deaths of the four--who appeared to be in their early 20s--brought to 28 the number of people killed since Friday’s assassination attempt.

“The terrorists had come very well prepared,” Defense Ministry spokesman Brig. Palitha Fernando said. “They had assorted weapons, like machine guns and rocket-propelled grenade launchers.”

The four had taken shelter in the building after the failed attack on a motorcade of government leaders in Colombo, the Sri Lankan capital, that killed 21 people, including a suicide bomber, and injured 74 others. Police said that the suicide bomber prematurely detonated an explosive device strapped to his chest.

“The honorable defense minister and the chiefs of the infantry, navy and air force were all in the parliament and would have taken the route,” Fernando said. The three armed forces chiefs were attending a debate on extending emergency rule in the country--a move requested by President Chandrika Kumaratunga to combat Tamil separatists.

Friday’s blast triggered a gun battle involving the suicide bomber’s accomplices. One suspected rebel was killed. The bodies of two more suspected rebels were found at the blast site early Saturday.

There were no claims of responsibility after Friday’s attack, but Tamil rebels were suspected. The Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam has been fighting since 1983 for a separate homeland for the island nation’s 3.3 million minority Tamils.