Police in Sri Lanka say they have intercepted a parcel bomb addressed to President Kumaratunga, who was injured in a suicide bomb attack last month.

Staff at the presidential office became suspicious when they saw that a parcel addressed to Mrs Kumaratunga had two layers of wrapping on it.

The parcel was put through an X-ray machine and when a clock mechanism was spotted, a bomb disposal squad was called in.

They carried out a controlled explosion.

First time

This is the first reported instance of a letter bomb being sent to the president - although some have been received by members of the security forces in previous years.

President Kumaratunga is still recovering from the attack in December when she was injured in the right eye after a suicide bomber, believed to be a Tamil Tiger rebel, attacked a campaign rally she was addressing.

Doctors in London, where she went for treatment, say she may have lost the use of her eye.

Twenty-six people were killed in that incident.

Accusations

Since the attack, the president has accused the opposition of conspiring with Tamil Tiger rebels to eliminate her.

Last week, the Sri Lankan state media alleged that the December attack was part of a wider conspiracy to stage a military coup.

But opposition and media organisations have condemned the accusations, saying the government wants to stifle opposition.

No one has been blamed for the reported letter bomb.

However, the BBC's correspondent in Colombo, Susannah Price, says it will serve to further heighten tension which has been increasing in the past month following three suicide bomb attacks and the shooting of a prominent Tamil politician.