COLOMBO, Sri Lanka (AP) — A bomb blast blamed on separatist Tamil Tigers wounded 45 people in Sri Lanka's capital Saturday, while renewed fighting in the embattled north killed 18 rebels and three soldiers, the military said. Military spokesman Brig. Udaya Nanayakkara accused the Tamil rebels of setting off the blast on a busy street in the heart of Colombo. Fighting in Sri Lanka's civil war has escalated in recent months, with the military capturing a series of rebel bases and large chunks of territory. Officials have reiterated a pledge to crush the guerrillas by the end of the year. The Tamil Tiger rebels have fought for an independent state in the north and east of the Indian ocean island since 1983, following decades of marginalization of ethnic Tamils by governments dominated by the Sinhalese majority. More than 70,000 people have been killed in the conflict.
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