Colombo, Jan. 5 (Reuters): Suspected Tamil Tiger rebels set off a bomb in a bus in western Sri Lanka today, killing at least five people and wounding 30, the military said, as fighting raged in the north and east of the island.

Around 80 people were aboard the bus when the blast occurred in the town of Nittambuwa, 36 km north of Colombo, during evening rush hour. “It was a bomb inside the bus, very powerful, the bus caught fire,” said military spokesman Brigadier Prasad Samarasinghe. “The Tigers are targeting civilians.” He said the bomb was placed beneath a seat.

Samarasinghe said at least five people were killed and he expected the death toll to rise further. “There are at least 30 injured, 10 of them serious, the number may go up.” The blast in the relatively peaceful west took place at a time when the Sri Lankan military has launched air and artillery attacks on the LTTE in the north and the east of the island.