Colombo  - A senior Cabinet minister escaped unhurt after a suicide attack by suspected Tamil rebels in the outskirts of Sri Lanka's capital Thursday afternoon, military spokesman Brigadier Udaya Nanayakkara said.

Agriculture Minister Maithripala Sirisena's convoy was hit in the suicide attack at Piliyandala, 12 kilometres south of the capital, but the vehicle with the minister had passed by.

At least one civilian was killed and seven others injured in the blast.

The military spokesman blamed the rebels of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) for the attack.

The attack came as government troops were moving closer to a rebel-held town in northern Sri Lanka from where they have been running their own administration. (dpa)