Sri Lankan government minister killed in bomb explosion

A Sri Lankan government minister died Tuesday after being wounded by a roadside bomb set off by suspected Tamil Tiger rebels outside the capital, the military said.

D.M. Dassanayake, the nation-building minister of non-Cabinet rank, died in a hospital after his car was caught in an explosion in the Ja-Ela area, about 20 kilometers (12 miles) north of Colombo, military spokesman Brig. Udaya Nanayakkara said. (AP)