COLOMBO, Oct 9, 2008 (AFP) - At least one person was killed in a blast near the Sri Lankan capital Colombo on Thursday that police described as a suspected suicide attack on a government minister.

Military spokesman Brigadier Udaya Nanayakkara said a further three people were injured in the explosion which occured near a Buddhist temple just outside the city.

According to Nanayakkara, police believed it was a suicide blast targetting a vehicle convoy escorting Agriculture Minister Maithripala Sirisena.

The minister was not hurt in the incident, and it was not immediately clear if his security convoy had even been caught in the explosion.

Sri Lanka in the past has blamed such attacks on the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) who have been fighting for a separate state for minority Tamils since 1972.