6TH LEAD

Bomb blast in front of SLAF HQ in Colombo, airman, civilian killed

[TamilNet, Friday, 02 January 2009, 12:06 GMT]
A Sri Lanka Air Force (SLAF) airman and a civilian were killed and 36 persons, including 16 airmen were wounded in a bomb explosion in front of the SLAF head office in the high security zone in Slave Island, Colombo 2, Friday at 5:15 p.m., while the city was lighting firecrackers celebrating the occupation of Ki'inochchi town by the Sri Lanka Army. The explosion took place 15 minutes after Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa announced, in a televised address, that the SLA had captured the town of Ki'linochchi, 320 kilometres north of Colombo.

The wounded were rushed to Colombo General Hospital.

Police said that the human bomber who exploded himself at the entrance to the SLAF HQ had arrived on foot and not on a motorcycle as it was earlier thought.

Three of the wounded were in critical state, according medical sources.