Rebel Sought in 90 Deaths Kills Himself

COLOMBO, Sri Lanka — A rebel explosives expert, wanted for the killing of a Cabinet minister and 89 other people, committed suicide as police burst into his hide-out, Sri Lankan military officials said Thursday.

Nadaraja Varatharaja swallowed a cyanide capsule when armed police burst into his shack Wednesday on a tea plantation in central Sri Lanka, the officials said.

Varatharaja was suspected in the March 2 car bomb explosion in Colombo that killed Defense Minister Ranjan Wijerante and 29 other people. He also was believed to have organized a June 21 car bombing at the army anti-guerrilla headquarters in downtown Colombo. At least 60 people died in that blast.