Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
07COLOMBO496
2007-03-27 10:58:00
UNCLASSIFIED//FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY
Embassy Colombo
Cable title:
SRI LANKA: LTTE SUICIDE BOMBER EXPLODES TRACTOR
how-toVZCZCXRO6313 OO RUEHBI DE RUEHLM #0496 0861058 ZNR UUUUU ZZH O 271058Z MAR 07 FM AMEMBASSY COLOMBO TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 5765 INFO RUEHRL/AMEMBASSY BERLIN PRIORITY 0304 RUEHKA/AMEMBASSY DHAKA PRIORITY 0001 RUEHIL/AMEMBASSY ISLAMABAD PRIORITY 6976 RUEHKT/AMEMBASSY KATHMANDU PRIORITY 5054 RUEHLO/AMEMBASSY LONDON PRIORITY 3635 RUEHNE/AMEMBASSY NEW DELHI PRIORITY 0798 RUEHNY/AMEMBASSY OSLO PRIORITY 3721 RUEHOT/AMEMBASSY OTTAWA PRIORITY 1032 RUEHKO/AMEMBASSY TOKYO PRIORITY 2801 RUEHCG/AMCONSUL CHENNAI PRIORITY 7551 RUEHBI/AMCONSUL MUMBAI PRIORITY 5253 RUEHON/AMCONSUL TORONTO PRIORITY 0157 RHEFDIA/DIA WASHINGTON DC PRIORITY RUEHGV/USMISSION GENEVA PRIORITY 1932 RHEHAAA/NATIONAL SECURITY COUNCIL WASHINGTON DC PRIORITY RHHMUNA/HQ USPACOM HONOLULU HI PRIORITY RUEHBS/USEU BRUSSELS PRIORITY
UNCLAS COLOMBO 000496
SIPDIS
SENSITIVE
SIPDIS
DEPARTMENT FOR SCA/INS
E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PTER MOPS PGOV CE
SUBJECT: SRI LANKA: LTTE SUICIDE BOMBER EXPLODES TRACTOR
NEAR ARMY BASE
REF: COLOMBO 494
UNCLAS COLOMBO 000496
SIPDIS
SENSITIVE
SIPDIS
DEPARTMENT FOR SCA/INS
E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PTER MOPS PGOV CE
SUBJECT: SRI LANKA: LTTE SUICIDE BOMBER EXPLODES TRACTOR
NEAR ARMY BASE
REF: COLOMBO 494
1. (SBU) At 7:15 am on March 27, a LTTE suicide bomber
detonated a tractor with an attached trailer just outside the
entrance to Chenkalady ARMY camp near Batticaloa. Military
spokesman Brigadier Prasad Samarasinghe told us that the LTTE
initiated a mortar attack on the south side of Chenkalady
camp at 6:45 am in an apparent effort to draw military
personnel away from the gate where the suicide bomber would
attempt to enter. When the guards refused him entry, the
bomber detonated the vehicle outside the gate.
2. (SBU) According to Samarasinghe, three soldiers and five
civilians were killed in the blast. One solder, two
policemen and eighteen civilians, including two children,
were wounded. Police sources informed RSO staff that two of
the civilians wounded in the blast were members of the Eelam
People's Democratic Party (EPDP),an anti-LTTE Tamil group
with a significant paramilitary wing. The EPDP's local office
is located directly adjacent to the Chenkalady ARMY base.
3. (SBU) COMMENT: This action, like yesterday's raid on
Katunayake Air Base, appears calculated to demonstrate that
the LTTE remains a potent threat and that the military is
vulnerable in areas it claims to have secured.
BLAKE
SIPDIS
SENSITIVE
SIPDIS
DEPARTMENT FOR SCA/INS
E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PTER MOPS PGOV CE
SUBJECT: SRI LANKA: LTTE SUICIDE BOMBER EXPLODES TRACTOR
NEAR ARMY BASE
REF: COLOMBO 494
1. (SBU) At 7:15 am on March 27, a LTTE suicide bomber
detonated a tractor with an attached trailer just outside the
entrance to Chenkalady ARMY camp near Batticaloa. Military
spokesman Brigadier Prasad Samarasinghe told us that the LTTE
initiated a mortar attack on the south side of Chenkalady
camp at 6:45 am in an apparent effort to draw military
personnel away from the gate where the suicide bomber would
attempt to enter. When the guards refused him entry, the
bomber detonated the vehicle outside the gate.
2. (SBU) According to Samarasinghe, three soldiers and five
civilians were killed in the blast. One solder, two
policemen and eighteen civilians, including two children,
were wounded. Police sources informed RSO staff that two of
the civilians wounded in the blast were members of the Eelam
People's Democratic Party (EPDP),an anti-LTTE Tamil group
with a significant paramilitary wing. The EPDP's local office
is located directly adjacent to the Chenkalady ARMY base.
3. (SBU) COMMENT: This action, like yesterday's raid on
Katunayake Air Base, appears calculated to demonstrate that
the LTTE remains a potent threat and that the military is
vulnerable in areas it claims to have secured.
BLAKE