| Other things |
|
|
| Other things |
|
|
| Other things |
| தொடுப்புக்கள் |
| Other things |
| தொடுப்புக்கள் |
| Other things |
| தொடுப்புக்கள் |
|
| 4 suspects held in suicide attack on Lanka Defence Secy. - Hindu, India |
| Saturday, December 2, 2006 |
December 2, 2006
Four people have been arrested in connection with a suspected Tamil Tiger suicide bombing targeting Sri Lanka's defense secretary, including the owner of a motorized rickshaw used in the attack, police said on Saturday.
Three people, including the bomber, died in the bombing in the capital Friday and 14 more were injured.
Police traced the owner of the black-and-yellow motorized rickshaw from the vehicle's registration number plate which was not destroyed in the blast, a police officer said on condition of anonymity citing the sensitivity of the information.
He was arrested late Friday, and three other suspects including a friend of the vehicle's owner were arrested Saturday, the police officer said.
The government has blamed separatist Tamil Tiger rebels for the attack and said Defense Secretary Gotabhaya Rajapakse appeared to be the target.
Military spokesman Brig. Prasad Samarasinghe said the bomber triggered the explosives as a five-car convoy of vehicles was passing. Rajapaksa, the younger brother of President Mahinda Rajapaksa, was in one of the bulletproof cars, flanked by two motorcycle escorts.
Rajapakse, a retired military colonel, was not injured in the attack, but the military said two soldiers died, and nine soldiers and five civilians were hospitalized.
The rebels have not commented on the suicide attack and attempts to contact Tamil Tiger officials were unsuccessful.
Suicide bombings are a hallmark of the Tamil Tigers, who have been fighting for more than 20 years for a separate homeland for Sri Lanka's 3.1 million minority ethnic Tamils.
The government says it is willing to grant Tamils autonomy in areas where they are a majority, but the rebels want broader powers.
Meanwhile, the pro-rebel TamilNet Web site said Sri Lankan air force planes bombed houses in the rebel-held district of Mullaithivu on Saturday, injuring one civilian.
An official at the military's media center said he had not received information of an air force raid in the area. The official spoke on condition of anonymity, citing the center's policy.
A spike in violence this year has killed 3,500 fighters and civilians, imperiling a 2002 cease-fire and threatening to return the country to all-out war. |
posted by தமிழினி @ 8:58 PM  |
|
|
|
|
|
