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SUSPECTED LTTE CLAYMORE MINE
DIFFUSED IN KANDY WHERE THOUSANDS THRONG TO TAKE PART IN ANNUAL PERAHERA
(By Walter Jayawardhana)
The Sri Lankan security forces diffused a suspected Liberation Tigers
of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) claymore mine in the Sri Lankan ancient hill capital
of kandy where thousands are thronging to take part in the annual religious
pagent connected with the tooth relic of Lord Buddha.
Simultaneously the security forces also diffused two more claymore mines
of similar nature elsewhere in the island closer to the capital city
Colombo.
“It’s definitely with all the hallmarks of the LTTE,”
said police spokesman, Deputy inspector General of Police Jayantha Wickramaratne.
Police sources said the bomb had been placed next to a wall in a side
street in the kandy town.
If successful this would have been the second bomb the Tamil Tigers
would have exploded in Kandy targeting a Buddhist site of pilgrimage.
In 1998 a suicide truck bomb was exploded killling and maiming scores
of pilgrims coming to the Temple of the Tooth and destroying the front
section of the historic temple.
But despite heavy damages to parts of the building of the most venerated
place of worship of the Sri lankan Buddhists , the bomb could not damage
the relic chamber but destroyed certain parts of the roof of the octagone
.
The bombs were discovered on the eve of the visit by another Buddhist
leader, the acting Prime Minister of Myanmar, Lieutenant General Thein
Sein with Sri Lanka President Mahinda Rajapaksa to witness the pagent,
the Esala Perehera.
During the previous occasion in 1998 the LTTE exploded the suicide truck
bomb on the eve of the visit by Prince Charles, the Prince of Wales.
The other two bombs have been discovered on the Kalipinya Puttalam road
at a place called Kurumbapitiya. The 15 kilogram bombs have been placed
to target either Navy or Police vehicles passing the spot , police sources
said. The bombs were diffused and found to be able of explosion triggered
by remote controllers. The existence of the claymore mines have been
notified by a civilian and he will be aptly rewarded , the police said.
The annual perehera is a world famous cultural pagent of Sri Lanka where
hundreds of drummers and dancers take part with nearly two dozen decorated
tuskers in a procession. In the procession one of the tuskers carry
a casket containing the sacred tooth relic of the Buddha.
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