"We have already begun an internal inquiry (on whether the commander was targeted). Four of our men were killed in the explosion. One surviving leading aircraftsman is critically hurt in hospital and has not been able to say anything yet,'' he said.

"The explosion occurred at 5.25 p.m. The commander's convoy left headquarters at 5.23 p.m. If she had not been stopped at the checkpoint, it is possible that she would have jumped in front of the convoy,'' this source said.

Police investigators are no longer convinced that the bomber drove up to the checkpoint in a van. They are investigating the possibility that she came there by foot. However, until the statement of L/AC Rohana Kumara, now lying critically ill at the National Hospital is recorded, this factor cannot be firmly established, DIG (Colombo) D.M.T.B. Dissanayake said.

They have already established that the vehicle which was badly damaged in the explosion belonged to Ranjana's, a Pettah textile dealer. Some of its employees who were riding it at the time were killed in the blast. The firm's proprietor is being questioned to determine whether the vehicle was merely caught up in the blast or not.

The location of the blast was a top security area in which the SLAF headquarters, Army Recruitment Centre, the Ministerial Security Division, Slave Island Police, and the headquarters of the Sri Lanka Electrical and Mechanical Engineers are situated.

A national identity card found on the scene suggested that the suicide killer was Indrani Ganeshan from Kathiravelli in Vakarai in the Batticaloa district, an area under LTTE control.

The dead service personnel were identified as women soldiers N.V.P.S. Dharmawardena, U.D.N. Thushari, Corporal of Sri Lanka Air Force, O.R.Jayaratne, A.K.D.Weerakoon, leading aircraftsmen

The only two survivors manning this check point on this fateful day are aircraftsmen K.Rohana Kumara and the sniffer dog. Both are said to be in a serious condition.

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