'Ellalan Force' claims responsibility for bus attacks

A little known Sri Lankan rebel group claimed responsibility yesterday for recent bomb attacks on transport as revenge for what it said were government attacks and bombings on Tamil civilians. The military has blamed the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eeelam (LTTE) for a series of train and bus blasts in the capital Colombo and central Sri Lanka in which at least 32 people were killed and over 100 wounded.

"We want to claim that we are responsible for the bomb attacks on the transport vehicles and other attacks," Ellalan Force, which the military says is a Tiger-linked group, said in an e-mail to Reuters.

Analysts have previously said the LTTE uses front groups it has established to deflect blame for civilian deaths from the mainstream leadership.