Suicide Attack at Kalawanchikudi

At a time of mounting international pressure on the government to disarm the Karuna Faction, two of its cadres died while inspecting a suspicious person at Kalawanchikudi (between Batticaloa and Ampara) today, when the suspect turned out to be an LTTE suicide bomber.

The suicide bomber had been moving from Ampara District to Batticaloa District by bicycle to arouse less attention. His target is yet unclear. LTTE still maintains a presence in Kanjikudiaaru, Kanchanakudah areas of Ampara District. The incident comes ahead of the March 10th elections in the East.

Meanwhile 3 police teams investigating yesterday's blast at Mt. Lavinia believe a woman of around 50 years may have left the bomb inside the bus. They have taken in 3 women and 3 men for questioning. However, majority of the passengers are said to have disembarked from the bus and left for work on other buses. As a result, the investigation teams maybe lacking crucial eye-witness accounts that could potentially hamper the investigations.