COLOMBO , Sri Lanka ( CNN ) -- A Sri Lankan government minister narrowly escaped injury Thursday when a suicide bomber in a car detonated explosives , police said . File image of Maithripala Sirisena taken in May , 2007 . Two of the minister 's bodyguards were hurt in the blast , which occurred in a southern suburb of the capital city , Colombo . The minister , Maithripala Sirisena , heads the agriculture department . He is also the secretary of the Sri Lanka Freedom Party , a partner in the ruling coalition . Authorities blamed the attack on Tamil Tigers rebels . The fighting in Sri Lanka pits government forces in a country dominated by the Sinhalese ethnic group against rebels from the Tamil minority . The rebels , formally known as the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam , are fighting for the creation of an independent nation , citing discrimination by the Sinhalese . On Monday , a suicide bombing blamed on rebels killed at least 27 people , including a prominent politician and his wife . Another 60 were wounded . That bombing took place in Anuradhapura , the capital of Sri Lanka 's North Central province .
Minister 's bodyguards died in blast in southern part of Colombo . Colonel Sirisena heads the police department . Authorities blamed the attack on Tamil Tigers rebels .