Nearly two dozen people killed in bomb blast on bus in Sri Lanka

January 16, 2008 So far at least 23 people, all civilians, are reported dead when a bomb exploded on a bus in the town of Buttala in Sri Lanka. Nearly 70 have been injured. Reports say that there were at least 50 people on the bus, many of them school children.

"Twenty-three people were killed and 67 wounded. They are all civilians. The terrorists were desperate in that area and are now targeting civilians," said Brigadier Udaya Nanayakkara, a spokesman for the country's military. Police also say that someone fire shots at the bus after it exploded.

It is not yet known whether or not the bomb was on the bus, or placed in close proximity of it.