Colombo  -  A powerful time bomb was detected and defused Monday at a busy bus stand in north-western Sri Lanka, police said.

The bomb, weighing 6 kilograms, was discovered 40 minutes before it was set to explode at the Galgamuwa bus stand, 90 kilometres north of Colombo, police said.

"We were alerted by a passenger about a suspicious-looking parcel inside the bus stand," said WGM Chandrasiri, officer in charge of the police station there.

On Friday a powerful bomb exploded inside a bus on the outskirts of the capital, killing 26 passengers and injuring more than 70.

Police blamed Tamil separatist rebels with the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam for planting both bombs, saying it was an attempt to distract the attention of security forces, who are carrying out military operations against the rebels in northern Sri Lanka. (dpa)