LTTE claymore attack kills 7 civilians
Targets STF truck in a crowded city:
Manjula Fernando
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The shops that were in the vicinity.
Pictures by Sudath Nishantha
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Ratmalana: The LTTE exploded a claymore mine at Ratmalana last
evening killing seven civilians and wounding 37 others including six STF
personnel.
The bomb went off around 5.40 p.m. as an STF truck went past
Belekkade Junction, Ratmalana where the claymore was planted, on a roof
of a closed down shop. The truck veered off the road with the impact of
the blast.
The military accused the LTTE of targeting civilians in the guise of
military targets, carefully choosing soft spots where civilian presence
is abundant.
An STF truck travelling from the Katukurunda training base to
Gonahena Camp at Kadawatha, carrying nine STF personnel including a
police Sub Inspector, was damaged in the mine attack, military spokesman
Brig. Prasad Samarasinghe said adding that the LTTE was behind the
ruthless attack.
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Care: civilians caught in the explosion being attended to at the
Kalubowila hospital . pictures by Chaminda Hittatiyage |
"They did not even consider that the place was brimming with
civilians at the time," condemning the attack the Brigadier said.
The injured were rushed to the Kalubowila and Panadura Hospitals and
the National Hospital, Colombo. Around 10 pm yesterday, 31 (including
five STF men) were receiving treatment at Kalubowila, 2 at Panadura, and
another 2 (one STF) were at the National hospital.
"None of them are in critical condition," a spokesman for the Media
Centre for National Security said.
Five dead bodies, two men and three women are lying at Kalubowila
hospital while the body of a another male is at Panadura and another at
the National Hospital.
The bomb is suspected to have been fixed to the roof of a closed down
shop located on the sea side of the Galle road, near the Belekkade
Junction. Several shops close by, including a VCD centre were damaged in
the explosion suspected to have been activated by a remote controlled
device.
The traffic flow from Ratmalana direction to Colombo was temporarily
blocked soon after the incident.
The Police, STF, Army and the Air Force carried out a joint search
operation in the area soon afterwards.
The hospitals released the names of the victims who died yesterday's
blast. D.S. Balachandran, Dananjaya Rajakaruna (Panadura Hospital) and
Irangani Fernando of Ratmalana, Roshan Bandara of Mt. Lavinia, Shantha
Kumara of Boralesgamuwa, H.S. Ramani of Elpitiya, Samantha Gunaratne and
Samantha Gunarathne of Ratmalana are among them. |
