(Xinhua)
Updated: 2008-02-29 12:47

COLOMBO -- At least 2 killed and eight injured including four policemen, when a suspected Tamil Tiger rebel exploded himself in the Sri Lankan capital of Colombo Friday morning, defense officials said.

Military Spokesman Udaya Nanayakkara said the incident happened while the police were conducting a cordon and search operation in a house in Colombo's northern Kotahena area around 6:10 am (0040 GMT).

"When they went into the house, a man came out and exploded himself. Four police officers and four Tamil civilians were injured in the suicide bomb explosion," Nanayakkara told Xinhua.

The spokesman said the suicide bomber died on the spot and accused the rebel Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) of conducting the explosion.

Of the injured, one police officer was in critical condition, said Nanayakkara.

The explosion came less than a week after a civilian bus was exploded in Colombo, injuring 18 civilians.

The LTTE said that eight Tamil civilians were killed by Army troops on Wednesday in two separate incidents in the northern Vavuniya district.

Government troops and the LTTE are currently engaged in fierce battles in the north.  The government is determining to defeat the LTTE before the end of this year.

The LTTE has been fighting the troops since the mid-1980s to carve out a separate homeland for the Tamil minority in the north and east.