At least 23 people have been killed and more than 50 injured in a pair of bombing attacks in Sri Lanka.

Authorities blame the Tamil Tiger rebels for the deadly blasts against a bus carrying factory workers and an armoured military vehicle, CNN reported.

Schools closed after the first attack with authorities thinking a school bus was the target.

A senior police official told reporters that a fragmentation mine, device frequently used by the Tamil Tigers, detonated near the bus.
"Thereafter, the rebels opened fire and hurled grenades at the bus," the official said.

The second blast wounded three soldiers, military officials said.

Violence increased on the island since the government announced its intentions to withdraw from a 2002 cease-fire two weeks ago.

On January 8, a Sri Lankan minister died after a roadside bomb hit his convoy near the capital Colombo.

About 65,000 people have died in the brutal civil war, in which the two sides have engaged since 1983.

The Tamil Tigers demand independence for the Tamil minority in the north and east of the island, located south of India.

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