COLOMBO, Sri Lanka (AP) — The daughter of a Sri Lankan journalist assassinated during the country's civil war says she'll appeal a U.S. court's decision to throw out her lawsuit against Gotabaya Rajapaksa, the front-runner in Sri Lanka's upcoming presidential election.

Rajapaksa was defense chief when Lasantha Wickrematunge, editor of the Sunday Leader newspaper, was killed in January 2009, around four months before the end of the long civil war. His daughter, Ahimsa Wickrematunge, filed a lawsuit in a Los Angeles court seeking damages from Rajapaksa for his alleged involvement in the killing.

On Monday, the court announced that it had granted Rajapaksa's motion to dismiss the lawsuit.

Ahimsa Wickrematunge said the court's decision is a "disappointing setback" for the family but vowed to continue her fight.