Death toll of the Rathmalana bomb blast has risen to eight as one of the Special Task Force (STF) Personnel succumbed to his injuries at the National Hospital Colombo last night (28).
Earlier, seven civilians, four males and three females died immediately after the indiscriminate bomb attack carried out by the LTTE terrorists at Rathmalana, in the Colombo suburb last evening. 36 people including five STF personnel sustained injuries in the incident.
The bomb, which had been planted under the roof of a wayside shop, was exploded around 5:40 p.m. targeting the civilians using Colombo-Gall main road. A police truck carrying STF personnel was too caught in the explosion. STF officials said that there were nine police commandos in truck at the time of the explosion. Six civilian vehicles were also badly damaged in the incident. Bags, shoes and slippers of the victims were seen strewn on the road.
The Police truck had been moving from the STF Training School in Katukurunda to its camp in Gonahena, Kadawatha when the explosion occurred.
Military officials said the terrorists have clearly targeted the civilians in guise of attacking a military target as the bomb was timed with the office crowd returning home after work. Military Spokesman Brigadier Prasad Samarasinghe said that the bomb might be a claymore mine triggered using a remote control device. The shop where the bomb was placed had been closed for more than 1 1/2 years and some repairs had been effected to it a few days ago.
Brigadier Samarasinghe requested all citizens to be vigilant on their surroundings at all times and to inform any suspicious activity to the security forces immediately as possible. He said that the support of civilians is vital for preventing such unfortunate incidents.
Meanwhile, President Mahinda Rajapaksa condemning the attack said that the LTTE was trying to achieve its narrow objectives through such cowardly attacks at innocent civilians. In a statement, the President expressed his condolence to the families of those who died in the attack and wished speedy recovery for the injured.
President Rajapaksa further pointed out that the LTTE is floundering to prop up communalism in the south to disrupt the humanitarian operations undertaken by the security forces in the North and East. He added that the aim of the operations carried out by the security forces is to liberate the people living under terror clutches and to safeguard their democratic rights.
The LTTE has been fighting against SL government since 1983 for a separate mono ethnic homeland for the Tamils living in the Island. The main strategy of the outfit in pursuing its objectives has been killing innocent civilians in indiscriminate attacks without claiming responsibility for any of its deeds. During last two decades, the LTTE has killed tens of thousands civilians in its bomb attacks and ethnic cleansing raids at Sinhalese and Muslim villages. However, the outfit's propaganda machinery has been effective enough to mislead the international community and to find sufficient funds to further its terror campaign.
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