Dehiwala police rushed to the scene and sealed the area, Police sources said. The Kalubowila Hospital sources when contacted said that, among the seven people admitted one person was suffering from the shock caused due to the explosion.

A pregnant woman was also injured and admitted for treatment, the sources further said. Meanwhile, a person has revealed witnessing the explosion which as he said, occurred when some unknown individual threw an object into a litter bin, near the "Birds Paradise" at the zoo.

" A flash of light was followed by a shock wave and that's all I could recollect", he further revealed, speaking to our correspondent at the hospital.

The motive of the grenade attack is not known and the responsible are yet top be identified, as Police are conducting investigations with assistance of security forces, Dehiwala Police said.

Following the incident Dehiwala Zoo was temporarily declared closed for public by its officials.

The hand grenade attack comes within 24 hours of the LTTE's brutal bus bomb attack targeting pilgrims to Anuradhapura, at Dambulla on Saturday. Eighteen innocent civilians were killed and around 80 wounded in the cowardly bomb blast.

Courtesy - Sri Lanka Defence