LTTE TO HARM CIVILIANS WITH
THEIR IMPROVISED CLAYMORE MINES.
By Walter Jayawardhana
reporting from Los Angeles
The discovery of deadly claymore mines ready to be exploded at places
in the North and C-4 plastic explosives and ball bearings in other places
confirm the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) are continually
planning to detonate claymore devices to inflict maximum number of deaths
to civilians and the army, security sources said.
The mines, unlike landmines which are hidden underneath the ground
and triggered accidentally by the enemy or innocent civilians, are kept
above the ground and therefore could be easier to detect military sources
said. A claymore mine most recently discovered at Jaffna weighed 20
kilograms and could have inflicted heavy damages to human life, the
sources said.
The two claymore mines simultaneously detonated remotely at Kebithigollewa
by the LTTE took a toll of 65 lives and injured dozens more seriously.
They were tied to two trees for the maximum impact of the blast of steel
ball bearings, packed inside the mine according to military experts.
Claymore mines were invented during the Second World War and very much
improved now. Intelligence reports show LTTE explosive experts were
specially trained in the manufacturing of claymore mines that are detonated
remotely by radio signals, during their training by the Research and
Analysis Wing of India, many decades ago.
A claymore device 20 kilograms in weight was recovered June 9 in an
abandoned land in Potpathi at Thirunaveliin in Jaffna around 7.20 a.m.,
the Police said.
Clearing patrol troops of the army recovered a landmine laden with
40 Kilograms of C-4 high (plastic) explosives along with a remote control
device and two nine (9) volt batteries buried on the Kalliankadu road
closer to Batticaloa bus stand around 11.00 am July 8, another report
said.
Another July 9, report said, on information received from the public,
troops recovered 15 Kilograms of C-4 explosives(plastic explosives),
four hand grenades, three T-56 magazines and two belt orders used by
the LTTE cadres from Irasenthiran kulam area.
Another security report on July 5 said, “A claymore bomb explosion,
targeting Army and Police route clearing troops killed a soldier, around
8.58 a.m at Pirappamadu - Vavuniya on Wednesday, 05th July 2006.
Police source said that two claymore bombs were triggered consecutively
while the troops were on route clearing patrol duty along the Kachchakudai
- Pirappammadu road.
Few days ago a suspected LTTE cadre was arrested at Murukkan about
200 kilometers North of the capital Colombo with 16,000 bicycle ball
bearings military authorities said. According to the military they are
exactly the type used by the LTTE to pack in their improvised claymore
mines to be propelled at extremely high speed by plastic explosives.
Though invented during the Second World War claymore mines were not
used during that war but extensively by the Americans in the Vietnam
War. The bomb is contained in a plastic casing with a steel sheet at
the back and at the front 680 grams of plastic explosives and 700 steel
balls. When exploded by the remote device the explosives shoot the bicycle
ball bearings at high speed inflicting extremely deadly damage within
50 meters and causing injury within 250 meters in a 60 degree horizontal
arc, experts say.
Not only at Kebithigollewa but also at Wadiri in Point Pedro the LTTE
set their claymore bombs on trees- this time on a Palmyra trees killing
one soldier and injuring another, July 3.On the same day the LTTE killed
six security personnel and seriously injured 11 people including civilians
by exploding a claymore mine hidden in a trishaw taxi to mark the Indian
Foreign Secretary’s trip to Sri Lanka.
The claymore mines are set, the front facing the enemy. The steel plate
in the back make all the steel ball missiles directed at the front.
Not only it could harm humans who come directly on impact with the missiles
they could instantly pierce soft skins of vehicles like buses and trucks
like they did at Kebethigollewa killing 65 innocent children, women
and men
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