Colombo
At least four people, including a soldier, were killed and over 24
injured when a powerful bomb targeting an army bus exploded in the
heart of the Sri Lankan capital Wednesday.
"Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) terrorists have carried out
a cowardly bomb attack targeting an army bus carrying sick
personnel," the defence ministry said in a statement.
The bomb had apparently been placed inside the external unit of the
air conditioning machine of the Nippon Hotel on Kumaran Rutnam
Mawatha in Slave Island, a commercial hub in central Colombo, the
ministry said.
The hotel, owned by a family of Indian origin, was featured in the
Hollywood movie "The Bridge on the River Kwai".
The blast site is at a tri-junction from which one road leads to the
Sri Lankan Army headquarters, a short distance away.
The bus was badly damaged and 10 soldiers were among the 24 injured.
A civilian bus was also damaged. The blast took place at about 9.30
a.m., just when shops were beginning to open and at the start of the
morning rush hour.
Earlier, the army had said that they were not sure if the blast was
due to a claymore mine or if a suicide bomber was involved.
The blast was the second terror attack at the capital in the first
two days of 2008. On Tuesday, a Tamil member of the Sri Lankan
parliament, T. Maheswaran, was shot dead as he was worshiping in a
Hindu temple at Kotehena, adjacent to the Colombo harbour.
The alleged assailant was shot and wounded by Maheswaran's bodyguard
and is being questioned by the police in hospital.
Government spokesman Keheliya Rambukwella Wednesday said that it was
significant that the murder weapon was a kind of micro pistol
typically used by the LTTE's hit squads.
On the charge that the pruning of Maheswaran's police security
detail had facilitated the killing, Rambukwella said that the
security provided was based on assessments of the threat to him.
Maheswaran had been advised by security agencies not to stick to a
routine but he did not heed the advice, the government spokesman
said.
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