Lanka blast toll goes up to 12

With this the number of security personnel killed has gone up to seven which includes two women soldiers.

One of the suspects injured in the explosion, K Surendran, died late last night. Police, however, were tight-lipped about the information obtained from the suspect.

Police were also investigating into the conflicting versions about the sequence of events that led to the blast.

Air Force officials said Air Chief Vice Marshal Oliver Ranasinghe was the target of the attack as the blast occurred barely minutes after his convoy passed the checkpoint.

Accordingto a new version, the suicide bomber identified as Indrani from eastern Batticaloa, was not travelling in the van as claimed earlier, but blew herself on the side walks during the security check of the van. Police were investigating into this fresh version, sources said.

The van was later found belonging to a famous Tamil business house in Colombo with investments in Tamil Nadu.

Detailed investigations have revealed that the van with a driver and an assistant delivered a large quantity of uniforms at the Air Force building before being stopped at the checkpoint for a security check, sources said.

The business house had been supplying uniforms to the Air Force for some time.

The driver of the vehicle and an assistant were killed in the blast. The identity of the other male has not been established yet, police said.