Sri Lankan Foreign Minister Lakshman Kadirgamar, a hardliner in dealing with the island's Tamil Tiger rebels, was assassinated late on Friday in an attack the police blamed on separatist rebels, Reuters reported. "The foreign minister passed away," Justice Minister John Senevirathne told reporters outside the National Hospital in Colombo. "He worked tirelessly for peace throughout his career. It is a great loss." Government officials declined to comment on who was to blame for the shooting, but Inspector General of Police Chandra Fernando blamed it on the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam. "It's the Tigers," he told reporters early on Saturday. The Tigers were not immediately available for comment. The shooting comes amid escalating tensions between the government and the rebels, who have repeatedly threatened to resume a two-decade civil war because of a rash of violence in the island's restive east that each side blames on the other. Kadirgamar, 73, was rushed to the National Hospital in Colombo after he was shot just before midnight on Friday. --more 2312 Local Time 2012 GMT
