In pictures: Sri Lanka bus bomb

More than two dozen people have been killed in a bus blast in the south-east of Sri Lanka on the same day the government formally withdrew from a ceasefire with Tamil Tiger rebels.

The military blamed the blast on the Tigers, saying the rebels also shot dead two more people. The attack happened in the town of Buttala, 240km south-east of Colombo.

The roadside bomb was detonated as the vehicle was driving past, according to the defence ministry. Several soldiers were injured in a second blast not far from the first.

As news of the attack spread, grieving relatives descended on Buttala, a Sinhalese-dominated area of the south-east, far from the rebels' northern stronghold.

As relatives awaited news of their loved ones, doctors from Colombo were flown to the area by helicopter to treat the wounded.

At least 60 people were also injured in the attack on the packed bus, the army said, and four of those hurt were children.

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