A female suicide bomber pretending to be pregnant blew herself up inside Sri Lanka's army headquarters on Tuesday, seriously injuring the top military general and killing eight others.

Lt.-Gen. Sarath Fonseka, Sri Lanka's army commander, underwent surgery after suffering serious abdominal injuries, military and medical officials said. He is now said to be in stable condition.

The army general's driver and escort and 27 people -- including civilians -- were wounded, military spokesman Brig. Prasad Samarasinghe said.

"A powerful blast activated by a woman Tamil Tiger suicide bomber claimed the lives of several army and civil personnel," the army said in a statement.

The attacker entered the grounds using fake identification and claiming to have a prenatal appointment at the army's hospital, the military officials said. She was wearing explosives that made her appear pregnant, the officials told The Associated Press on condition of anonymity.

Police say the explosion bears the hallmarks of an attack by the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam, who have in the past used women to carry out suicide attacks in their fight for a separate homeland.

Fonseka was appointed head of the army after President Mahinda Rajapakse took office last November, and has taken a hard line against the Tamil Tigers.

A recent spike in violence has been threatening a 2002 ceasefire between the government and rebels. At least 83 people have been killed this month, including 43 soldiers or police.

The latest attack comes after Tamil Tigers pulled out of peace talks. The rebels backed out of talks scheduled to start Monday in Geneva, citing attacks on ethnic Tamil civilians and other disputes with the government.

The Tigers have been fighting for a separate homeland since the 1970s.

With files from The Associated Press