(Updates with death toll and details)

By Ranga Sirilal

COLOMBO, Nov 28 (Reuters) - Sri Lanka's Tamil Tigers killed 18 people in two bomb attacks in the capital Colombo on Wednesday, the military said, a day after the group's leader said he saw no hope of a peace deal to end the civil war.

A woman suicide bomber killed a minority Tamil minister's aide in an attack on his office early in the day. Hours later a parcel bomb exploded at the entrance of a shopping centre in a Colombo suburb.

"There are 16 dead bodies in the hospital and 33 people wounded," said military spokesman Brigadier Udaya Nanayakkara, referring to the second attack. "Both attacks were by the LTTE (Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam)."

The military said another victim from the second blast later died from injuries, raising the total death toll to 18.

Television images showed residents in the suburb of Nugegoda removing the dead and body parts from the site of the blast. Fire engines rushed to the scene to bring a blaze under control, a Reuters witness said.

In the first attack, the suicide bomber blew herself up near the office of Douglas Devananda, minister for social welfare and a former militant who vocally opposes the guerrillas, killing his personal secretary.

Devananda once fought alongside the Tigers before turning to politics in the 1980s and has escaped several assassination attempts by the rebels. The LTTE were not immediately available for comment on either attack.

Wednesday's blasts came a day after Tiger leader Velupillai Prabhakaran accused the international community of pandering to the government.

In an annual address, he said he had no hope of a political settlement with the state to end the civil war and vowed that the guerrillas would fight on for an independent state.

Following his statements, the government declared schools in the Western province to be closed as a security measure. The military had also requested the public to be extra vigilant and report suspicious items to security forces.

Fighting has been intense in recent months, with almost daily land and sea battles, bombings and air raids. More than 5,000 people have been killed in clashes between the military and the rebels since early 2006.

A government offensive has pushed the Tigers from strongholds in the east, and its troops are trying to wipe out the rebels entirely despite international calls for peace talks.

The military said separately three Tamil Tiger rebels were killed and two soldiers wounded in fighting in the east and in the north, where the Tigers hold about 15 percent of the island.

The death toll since the war erupted in 1983 is around 70,000 people, and analysts say the conflict is likely to grind on for years. (Additional reporting by Shihar Aneez; Editing by Michael Winfrey)

AlertNet news is provided by