Sri Lanka bus explosion injures 19, including 12 soldiers

COLOMBO, Sri Lanka – An explosion on a passenger bus in Sri Lanka injured 19 people, including 12 military personnel, the military said Wednesday.

Brig. Sumith Atapattu said the explosion occurred near Diyatalawa, a former garrison town about 190 kilometres (120 miles) from the capital, Colombo. The explosion and fire that followed caused severe damage to the bus.

He said the cause of the explosion is still not known, but it is possible that someone was carrying a grenade that went off.

Atapattu said police and the military are conducting separate investigations.

There were frequent bomb explosions on public transportation during the country’s long civil war, but Atapattu said there was no evidence of terrorist involvement.

The military defeated separatist Tamil Tiger rebels in 2009, ending more than a quarter-century civil war.