Military spokesman Brig. Udaya Nanayakkara said authorities suspected the Tamil Tiger rebels were behind the blast Wednesday morning that also injured 11 people.

He said the bomb was attached to a bicycle left near the police station in Batticaloa.

The rebels were not available for comment.

The government captured the east from the Tamil Tigers last year. However, the rebels have been accused of carrying out a growing number of attacks in the region.Discuss this story Published: Tue Jan 20 22:50:43 EST 2009

Tourism is the Indian Ocean island nation's fourth-biggest source of foreign exchange after garments, remittances, and tea, and is an industry that has stayed alive during a war with Tamil Tiger separatists that started in 1983.

Despite the conflict and occasional bombings in the capital Colombo, many visitors still flock to Sri Lanka's white-sand beaches, visit its ancient cities, or make pilgrimages to sites sacred primarily to Buddhists and Hindus. More...Discuss this story Published: Tue Jan 20 22:45:54 EST 2009

He is wanted by Interpol for murder, organised crime and terrorism.

"We don't know if he is still there. He may have already fled in a boat," Sri Lanka's army chief, lieutenant-general Sarath Fonseka, told journalists in the capital Colombo over the weekend.

When pressed for more details, he said: "We have no specific information. The only escape route available to them is via the sea towards Southeast Asia." More...Discuss this story Published: Tue Jan 20 22:48:18 EST 2009