Grenade Attack Kills Swiss Man In East

A Swiss man was killed by a grenade thrown into his bathroom by suspected Tamil Tiger rebels amid escalating violence in eastern Sri Lanka, police and military officials said Tuesday A Swiss man was killed by a grenade thrown into his bathroom by suspected Tamil Tiger rebels amid escalating violence in eastern Sri Lanka, police and military officials said Tuesday Hans Ulrich Herpos, 62, was in the shower at his home in Batticaloa town when the grenade was lobbed late Monday, said military spokesman Daya Ratnayake.

Herpos later died at the Batticaloa hospital, 220 kilometers east of the capital, Colombo, Ratnayake said.

He said the motive for the attack was unclear.

But a police officer in Batticaloa said Tamil Tiger rebels were suspected of involvement.

There was no immediate comment from the Tigers, who have a large presence in eastern Sri Lanka and control pockets outside the town.

There has been sporadic fighting, mainly in Batticaloa, since a former top rebel commander in the area led an unprecedented split in March, taking with him some 6,000 fighters.

The renegades were crushed a month later by the mainstream Tigers, and the bre