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Eleven dead, 200 injured in
grenade attack in Lanka

At least eleven people were killed and more than 200 injured in a grenade attack at a crowded stadium in a north west Sri Lankan town where Indian and local artistes were performing on Saturday night, police said on Sunday.

The blast occurred at about 0130 hrs (IST) at Kurunegala when the main football stadium was crammed with more than 100,000 fans for a performance by two Indian artistes Rithika and Syamala from Bombay.

The artists were unhurt.

Police said eight people were killed on the spot while 15 of the seriously injured were admitted to the National Hospital in Colombo.

Later, three more succumbed to their injuries.

Most of the people sustained injuries as a result of a stampede following the blast.

Ruling out the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam's hand in the explosion, the police put the blame on inter-gang rivalry.

They believe that a clash was sparked off by an old rivalry between the villages of Malkaduwawa and Samanpura near the outskirts of Kurunegala. ''There was a gang fight and then some madman lobbed a grenade,'' police said.

Police have not made any arrests so far.

UNI

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