Female suicide bomber kills 28, wounds 64

A woman with a bomb strapped to her body hid in a crowd of Sri Lankan civilians yesterday, blowing herself up as security forces frisked people fleeing the northern war zone and killing 28 people, the military said.

The suicide attack, which killed 20 soldiers and eight civilians, led to fears the Tamil Tiger separatists - boxed into a small strip of land on the northeastern coast and on the verge of defeat - will increasingly turn to guerrilla warfare in their battle against government forces.

The Red Cross estimates 250,000 civilians are also trapped in the area.