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Seven dead, nearly 100 hurt in Sri Lanka suicide blast: police, hospital

COLOMBO (AFP) — At least seven people died and 97 others were injured on Sunday in a suicide bomb attack onboard a train at the main railway station in the Sri Lankan capital Colombo, police and hospital sources said.

"We received 97 patients," said a spokeswoman for Colombo's main hospital, Pushpa Soysa. "Seven people were dead on admission."

A police spokesman said the attack was carried out by a suspected rebel Tamil Tiger woman suicide bomber as a suburban train pulled into the station in the heart of Colombo.

"Train services have been stopped and the injured have been rushed to the main hospital with six critically hurt," said the spokesman, N. Illangakoon.

Earlier Sunday, at least six visitors to a zoo on the outskirts of the capital were wounded in a hand grenade attack, despite tight security ahead of Sri Lanka's independence day celebrations on Monday.