COLOMBO, April 25 (Xinhua) -- Nine people were killed, another 27 people including Army Commander Sarath Fonseka were injured in a powerful explosion at Sri Lanka Army headquarters in Colombo Tuesday afternoon, police said.

    Police spokesman Rienzie Perera told Xinhua that the attack occurred at around 1:30 p.m. (0800 GMT) and the target was Fonseka, who was traveling in his convoy near a military hospital inside the headquarters.

    Perera said a woman suicide bomber, who was also among the dead, may have carried out the attack.

    He said Fonseka was rushed to the Colombo National Hospital after the explosion and "is now out of danger."

    There was no immediate claim of responsibility, but police said the rebel Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) might be behind the bombing.

    Fonseka was appointed Sri Lanka's Army Commander in December last year.

    He was in the thick of military operations against the LTTE rebels when the conflict escalated in the mid 1980s.

    Fonseka's assuming of office in December was greeted with stepping up of violence in the Northern and Eastern provinces where the LTTE rebels have waged a bloody armed struggle.

    More than 64,000 people were killed in Sri Lanka's drawn-out separatist armed conflict from mid-1980s to February 2002, when the Norwegians brokered the ongoing truce.

    The two sides held talks in Geneva this February for the first time in nearly three years, with both sides agreeing to respect the ceasefire agreement and take all necessary measures to ensure that there will be no intimidation, acts of violence, abductions or killings.

    They also agreed to hold another round of talks in April.

    However, the scheduled talks failed to be realized due the argument over the issue of transporting LTTE's eastern commanders to north prior to talks.

    More than 100 people have been killed since their talks in Geneva this February, making the Indian Ocean island country's fragile peace process at stake. Enditem