Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
06COLOMBO672
2006-04-25 11:23:00
CONFIDENTIAL
Embassy Colombo
Cable title:
SRI LANKA: SUSPECTED LTTE SUICIDE BOMBER ATTEMPTS
how-toVZCZCXRO3723 OO RUEHBI DE RUEHLM #0672/01 1151123 ZNY CCCCC ZZH O 251123Z APR 06 FM AMEMBASSY COLOMBO TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 3219 INFO RUEHNE/AMEMBASSY NEW DELHI PRIORITY 9550 RUEHIL/AMEMBASSY ISLAMABAD PRIORITY 6024 RUEHKA/AMEMBASSY DHAKA PRIORITY 9134 RUEHKT/AMEMBASSY KATHMANDU PRIORITY 4060 RUEHLO/AMEMBASSY LONDON PRIORITY 2963 RUEHOT/AMEMBASSY OTTAWA PRIORITY 0830 RUEHSM/AMEMBASSY STOCKHOLM PRIORITY 0198 RUEHNY/AMEMBASSY OSLO PRIORITY 3048 RUEHKO/AMEMBASSY TOKYO PRIORITY 2120 RUEHBI/AMCONSUL MUMBAI PRIORITY 4480 RUEHCG/AMCONSUL CHENNAI PRIORITY 6575 RUEKDIA/DIA WASHDC PRIORITY RHHMUNA/HQ USPACOM HONOLULU HI PRIORITY RHEHNSC/NSC WASHDC PRIORITY
C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 COLOMBO 000672
SIPDIS
SIPDIS
DEPARTMENT FOR SCA/INS AND DS/IP/SCA
DEPARTMENT PLEASE ALSO PASS AID
E.O. 12958: DECL: 04/24/2016
TAGS: PTER PGOV ASEC CE
SUBJECT: SRI LANKA: SUSPECTED LTTE SUICIDE BOMBER ATTEMPTS
TO KILL ARMY CHIEF IN CAPITAL; EAC MEETS
REF: COLOMBO 661 AND PREVIOUS
Classified By: AMB. JEFFREY J. LUNSTEAD. REASON: 1.4 (B,D).
C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 COLOMBO 000672
SIPDIS
SIPDIS
DEPARTMENT FOR SCA/INS AND DS/IP/SCA
DEPARTMENT PLEASE ALSO PASS AID
E.O. 12958: DECL: 04/24/2016
TAGS: PTER PGOV ASEC CE
SUBJECT: SRI LANKA: SUSPECTED LTTE SUICIDE BOMBER ATTEMPTS
TO KILL ARMY CHIEF IN CAPITAL; EAC MEETS
REF: COLOMBO 661 AND PREVIOUS
Classified By: AMB. JEFFREY J. LUNSTEAD. REASON: 1.4 (B,D).
1. (SBU) Summary: Army Commander Lt. General Sarath
Fonseka was injured April 25 in an assassination attempt by a
suspected Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) suicide
bomber at Army Headquarters in Colombo. As many as eight
people, many of them members of Fonseka's security detail,
may have been killed in the attack. Embassy recommends the
Department issue a statement strongly condemning this and
other acts of violence and urging both the Government and
LTTE to take all necessary measures to halt the violence.
Suggested points follow in Para 6 below. The Emergency
Action Committee (EAC) met on April 25 and determined the
Embassy's current security posture is appropriate. End
summary.
2. (SBU) On April 25 a suspected Liberation Tigers of Tamil
Eelam (LTTE) suicide bomber attempted to kill Army Commander
Lt.General Sarath Fonseka as his vehicle was leaving Army
Headquarters in Colombo at about 1350 local time. The Army
Chief was injured in the explosion and has been taken to the
hospital. The suicide bomber, Fonseka's driver, and as many
as six others, including members of the General's security
detail, were reportedly killed in the blast, while another 27
were injured. There were no reports of Americans killed or
injured in the attack.
3. (C) Initial reports indicate that the female suicide
bomber, who was reportedly dressed in a Sri Lanka Army
maternity uniform, was standing near the entrance of the Army
Hospital, which Fonseka's convoy was driving past on its way
out of the Army Headquarters compound. According to a
reliable Army source, the bomber jumped on Fonseka's vehicle
and detonated explosives concealed under the maternity
uniform. (Tuesdays are apparently the day when pregnant Army
personnel and dependents come to the Army hospital for
check-ups. According to an Army source, the patients are not
searched when they enter the Army Headquarters compound on
which the hospital is located.)
4. (SBU) The attack marks the first assassination attempt
against a prominent Government figure in Colombo since the
August 12 killing of Foreign Minister Lakshman Kadirgamar.
Colombo and outlying areas remained calm in the hours
immediately following the attack. There were no reports of
unrest in the eastern district of Trincomalee, the site of
several recent incidents of communal violence (Reftel) or
elsewhere.
5. (C) Fonseka, who has a reputation as a hardliner, was
appointed Army Commander in November by newly elected
President Mahinda Rajapaksa. (Fonseka had been scheduled to
retire the next month; his service was extended with the
appointment.) As a Colonel, Fonseka had served with
Rajapaksa's younger brother and current Defense Secretary
Gotabhaya Rajapaksa in Jaffna. Rising through the ranks, the
future Army Chief returned to Jaffna as Security Forces
Commander for a three-month stint in 2000 and again from
2002-2003, where he earned the admiration of Sinhalese
nationalists for his tough line against the LTTE.
6. (SBU) The Embassy suggests the Department issue a
statement making the following points:
--The US condemns the LTTE's attempted assassination of Lt.
General Sarath Fonseka;
--We urge the LTTE to cease immediately its terrorist tactics;
--We call on both the Government and the LTTE to take all
necessary steps to halt violence and restore a safe and
secure environment for all Sri Lankans.
COLOMBO 00000672 002 OF 002
7. (C) The Ambassador chaired an Emergency Action Committee
(EAC) meeting April 25 which was attended by representatives
of the Consular, Management, Defense Attache Office, Regional
Affairs, USAID, Political and Economic sections, as well as
the Regional Security Officer. After discussion it was
determined that the current security status of the Embassy is
appropriate. Post will monitor the situation and make
changes as necessary.
LUNSTEAD
SIPDIS
SIPDIS
DEPARTMENT FOR SCA/INS AND DS/IP/SCA
DEPARTMENT PLEASE ALSO PASS AID
E.O. 12958: DECL: 04/24/2016
TAGS: PTER PGOV ASEC CE
SUBJECT: SRI LANKA: SUSPECTED LTTE SUICIDE BOMBER ATTEMPTS
TO KILL ARMY CHIEF IN CAPITAL; EAC MEETS
REF: COLOMBO 661 AND PREVIOUS
Classified By: AMB. JEFFREY J. LUNSTEAD. REASON: 1.4 (B,D).
1. (SBU) Summary: Army Commander Lt. General Sarath
Fonseka was injured April 25 in an assassination attempt by a
suspected Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) suicide
bomber at Army Headquarters in Colombo. As many as eight
people, many of them members of Fonseka's security detail,
may have been killed in the attack. Embassy recommends the
Department issue a statement strongly condemning this and
other acts of violence and urging both the Government and
LTTE to take all necessary measures to halt the violence.
Suggested points follow in Para 6 below. The Emergency
Action Committee (EAC) met on April 25 and determined the
Embassy's current security posture is appropriate. End
summary.
2. (SBU) On April 25 a suspected Liberation Tigers of Tamil
Eelam (LTTE) suicide bomber attempted to kill Army Commander
Lt.General Sarath Fonseka as his vehicle was leaving Army
Headquarters in Colombo at about 1350 local time. The Army
Chief was injured in the explosion and has been taken to the
hospital. The suicide bomber, Fonseka's driver, and as many
as six others, including members of the General's security
detail, were reportedly killed in the blast, while another 27
were injured. There were no reports of Americans killed or
injured in the attack.
3. (C) Initial reports indicate that the female suicide
bomber, who was reportedly dressed in a Sri Lanka Army
maternity uniform, was standing near the entrance of the Army
Hospital, which Fonseka's convoy was driving past on its way
out of the Army Headquarters compound. According to a
reliable Army source, the bomber jumped on Fonseka's vehicle
and detonated explosives concealed under the maternity
uniform. (Tuesdays are apparently the day when pregnant Army
personnel and dependents come to the Army hospital for
check-ups. According to an Army source, the patients are not
searched when they enter the Army Headquarters compound on
which the hospital is located.)
4. (SBU) The attack marks the first assassination attempt
against a prominent Government figure in Colombo since the
August 12 killing of Foreign Minister Lakshman Kadirgamar.
Colombo and outlying areas remained calm in the hours
immediately following the attack. There were no reports of
unrest in the eastern district of Trincomalee, the site of
several recent incidents of communal violence (Reftel) or
elsewhere.
5. (C) Fonseka, who has a reputation as a hardliner, was
appointed Army Commander in November by newly elected
President Mahinda Rajapaksa. (Fonseka had been scheduled to
retire the next month; his service was extended with the
appointment.) As a Colonel, Fonseka had served with
Rajapaksa's younger brother and current Defense Secretary
Gotabhaya Rajapaksa in Jaffna. Rising through the ranks, the
future Army Chief returned to Jaffna as Security Forces
Commander for a three-month stint in 2000 and again from
2002-2003, where he earned the admiration of Sinhalese
nationalists for his tough line against the LTTE.
6. (SBU) The Embassy suggests the Department issue a
statement making the following points:
--The US condemns the LTTE's attempted assassination of Lt.
General Sarath Fonseka;
--We urge the LTTE to cease immediately its terrorist tactics;
--We call on both the Government and the LTTE to take all
necessary steps to halt violence and restore a safe and
secure environment for all Sri Lankans.
COLOMBO 00000672 002 OF 002
7. (C) The Ambassador chaired an Emergency Action Committee
(EAC) meeting April 25 which was attended by representatives
of the Consular, Management, Defense Attache Office, Regional
Affairs, USAID, Political and Economic sections, as well as
the Regional Security Officer. After discussion it was
determined that the current security status of the Embassy is
appropriate. Post will monitor the situation and make
changes as necessary.
LUNSTEAD