Bus explosion kills several people in Sri Lanka capital

News Info Inquirer.net
Blast outside Sri Lankan capital--gov’t officials

Agence France-Presse
First Posted 10:37:00 06/06/2008

COLOMBO -- A loud explosion was heard just outside Sri Lanka's capital of Colombo early Friday, government officials and residents said.

The blast took place in Moratuwa, the south of the city, an official at Sri Lanka's defense ministry told Agence France-Presse by telephone.

"We don't know what caused the incident, we are waiting for reports if there are any casualties," the official said.

A series of blasts have rocked the city and areas surrounding it in past weeks, with the defense ministry blaming the attacks on separatist Tamil Tiger rebels.

Blast Outside Sri Lankan capital

Ping.

Thanks for the ping bd476.

I’ve checked a couple of Tamil sites and nothing up there.

So, here’s an update from this blog (not a Tamil site).

#

Note: The following blog entry is a quote:

http://defencenet.blogspot.com/2008/06/heavy-civilian-casualties-in-moratuwa.html

FRIDAY, JUNE 6, 2008
Bus hit by explosion - Moratuwa / Katubedda road
A public transport bus ( 29 SRI 1895) was hit by an explosion today morning causing heavy civilian casualties. The bus was caught in the explosion while it was on the move on 255 bus route, at a location between Piliyandela and Katubedda.

Update: At least 19 killed and 40 injured.

The blast bears all hallmarks of a Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) attack.

South Asia Analysis.org - Search Term: “LTTE”

http://www.southasiaanalysis.org/searchb10.asp?search=LTTE&searchtype=all&B1=Submit

Thanks for the update, Cindy.

You’re welcome bd476.
I’m pretty sure this is the same bus incident.
I’ll update your thread when I see new updates.

Were Southern Baptists involved?

Update from Associated Press:

Sri Lanka bus blast kills 21

By BHARATHA MALLAWARACHI – 39 minutes ago

COLOMBO, Sri Lanka (AP) — A bomb ripped through a crowded passenger bus near Sri Lanka's capital during morning rush hour Friday, killing at least 21 people and wounding an additional 47, officials said.

The bombing was the second attack in three days targeting civilians. A blast targeting a passenger train wounded 18 passengers and bystanders in capital Colombo on Wednesday.

The country's military blamed the attack on Tamil Tiger rebels, who did not immediately comment on the blast. If carried out by the rebels, the attack would show their ability to strike deep inside government territory despite a maze of security checkpoints around the capital and its suburbs.

Tamil Tigers detonated a roadside bomb about 7:35 a.m., targeting a passenger bus in the Colombo suburb of Moratuwa, said Brig. Udaya Nanayakkara, the military spokesman.

Rebel spokesman Rasiah Ilanthirayan did not respond to calls seeking comment, but the rebels routinely deny such attacks.

The rebels, blamed for scores of suicide bombings and other attacks on civilians, are listed as a terrorist group by the United States, the European Union and India. Authorities have asked the public to remain vigilant in the wake of several bombings blamed on the rebels.

A blast blamed on rebels on a passenger train last month killed eight people and wounded 70 others near Colombo. Also last month, a bomb explosion deep in the rebel-held territory killed 16 people. Tamil Tigers blamed that blast on government forces — a charge the government denies.

The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs says more than 200 civilians have died in bombings since the beginning of the year in both government-controlled ethnic majority Sinhalese areas and northern rebel-held territory.

The Tigers have fought since 1983 to create an independent homeland for ethnic minority Tamils, who have been marginalized by successive governments controlled by the majority Sinhalese. More than 70,000 people have been killed.

Fighting has escalated along the northern front lines since the government withdrew from a long-ignored cease-fire in January.

The government has pledged to capture the rebels' de facto state in the north and crush them by the end of the year. But diplomats and other observers say the army is facing more resistance than expected.

Sri Lanka bus blast kills 21

TVNZ.co.nz

Sri Lanka bus explosion kills 21

Jun 6, 2008 5:02 PM

A roadside bomb exploded near a crowded passenger bus in the Sri Lankan capital Colombo, killing 21 people and wounding 47, the military said.

The blast occurred during the morning rush hour in the southern suburb of Moratuwa. The military blamed Tamil Tiger rebels for the blast, the latest attack on civilians in or near the capital this year.

"The bomb was planted on the road side, hidden in a bush and then exploded using a remote control," said an official of the police bomb disposal unit, asking not to be named.

A witness said the bus was shredded by shrapnel and the floor was covered in blood and debris.

"I was on my way to office and suddenly I heard a loud explosion and saw people screaming with blood all over," said Aruna Wickramarachchi, a 45-year-old hotel worker.

"My leg was also injured from the explosion," Wickramarachchi said, adding that she was among about 100 passengers on the bus.

The latest attack comes as Sri Lanka's military presses its offensive to retake the Tamil Tigers' northern stronghold in daily land, sea and air attacks in a civil war that has killed more than 70,000 people since 1983.

The military blamed the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) for the blast.

"It is the LTTE who are behind the explosion," said military spokesman Brigadier Udaya Nanayakkara.

The attack comes two days after the military blamed the rebels for a bomb blast on a railway track that wounded 27 civilians in Colombo.

The rebels, who are fighting for an independent state in the north and east of the island, were not immediately available for comment but usually deny involvement in such attacks.

Fighting between the military and the LTTE has intensified since the government formally pulled out of a six-year-old ceasefire pact in January, though a renewed civil war has been raging since 2006.

Analysts say the military has the upper hand in the latest phase of the long-running war given superior air power, strength of numbers and swathes of terrain captured in the island's east.

But they still see no clear winner on the horizon

Sri Lanka bus explosion kills 21

Thanks for the update bd476.

It is ironic how some of the most beautiful parts of the world are the most dangerous.

LukeL wrote: "It is ironic how some of the most beautiful parts of the world are the most dangerous."

True and good point. Sri Lankans I've met who have emigrated here are some of the most hardworking and gracious people.

You're welcome, Cindy.

Were Southern Baptists involved?

Actually the Tamil minority in Sri Lanka are Hindus. Muslims and Christians are each about 8% of the population, and are largely immigrants not from the Indian subcontinent.