Veppankulam blast was a claymore mine says Police

[TamilNet, Thursday, 05 August 1999, 06:28 GMT]
The blast in which 12 Special Task Force (STF) commandos were killed at Veppankulam in Vavuniya was not caused by a suicide bomber said Police investigators this morning. Inquiries by the Vavuniya Police have revealed that it was a claymore type bicycle bomb attack.

The Police have established the identity of the woman who was killed at the spot as that of a civilian. The Police initially suspected this woman to be the suicide bomber who had triggered off the blast yesterday.

The woman's husband, Pathmanathan who was taken in for questioning by the Police said that his wife Thanikailetchumi had gone to the Veppankulam junction to buy coconuts and was killed by the blast.

Police sources in Vavuniya said a bicycle fitted with high explosives that was parked by the road had been triggered off remotely as the truck passed by. They said it was also possible that the woman was holding the bicycle.

However, they said a thorough investigation is on to clearly determine as to how the attack on the STF was carried yesterday.

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