Central Bank Bombing
Encyclopedia
The Central Bank bombing was one of the deadliest terrorist attacks carried out by the LTTE during the Separatist civil war
Sri Lankan civil war
The Sri Lankan Civil War was a conflict fought on the island of Sri Lanka. Beginning on July 23, 1983, there was an on-and-off insurgency against the government by the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam , a separatist militant organization which fought to create an independent Tamil state named Tamil...
in Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka is a country off the southern coast of the Indian subcontinent. Known until 1972 as Ceylon , Sri Lanka is an island surrounded by the Indian Ocean, the Gulf of Mannar and the Palk Strait, and lies in the vicinity of India and the...
between the government and the Tamil Tigers.
The attack took place on January 31, 1996, Sri Lankan city of Colombo
Colombo
Colombo is the largest city of Sri Lanka. It is located on the west coast of the island and adjacent to Sri Jayawardenapura Kotte, the capital of Sri Lanka. Colombo is often referred to as the capital of the country, since Sri Jayawardenapura Kotte is a satellite city of Colombo...
. A lorry
Lorry
-Transport:* Lorry or truck, a large motor vehicle* Lorry, or a Mine car in USA: an open gondola with a tipping trough* Lorry , a horse-drawn low-loading trolley-In fiction:...
(42-6452) containing about 440 pounds of high explosives crashed through the main gate of the Central Bank , a seaside high-rise which managed most of the financial business of the country. As gunmen traded fire with security guards, the suicide bomber in the lorry detonated the massive bomb, which tore through the bank and damaged eight other buildings nearby http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/january/31/newsid_4083000/4083095.stm.
The lorry
Lorry
-Transport:* Lorry or truck, a large motor vehicle* Lorry, or a Mine car in USA: an open gondola with a tipping trough* Lorry , a horse-drawn low-loading trolley-In fiction:...
was followed by a three wheeler
Three wheeler
A three wheeler is a vehicle with three wheels, either "human or people-powered vehicles" or motorized vehicles in the form of a motorcycle, All terrain vehicle or automobile. Other names for three-wheelers include Trikes, Tricars and Cyclecars...
, carrying two LTTE cadres armed with automatic rifles and an RPG
Rocket propelled grenade
A rocket-propelled grenade is a shoulder-fired, anti-tank weapon system which fires rockets equipped with an explosive warhead. These warheads are affixed to a rocket motor and stabilized in flight with fins. Some types of RPG are reloadable while others are single-use. RPGs, with the exception of...
launcher.
The blast killed at least 91 people and injured 1,400 others.
At least 100 people lost their eyesight http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/51435.stm. Among the wounded were two US citizens, six Japanese, and one Dutch national. Most of these were bystanders or civilians manning small shops set up near the bank. While the bomber Raju died immediately, the back up team Subramanium Vigneswaram alias Kittu, and Sivasamy Dharmendra alias Raju, were apprehended by law enforcement with information provided by the public. Police and the security forces launched a massive manhunt for others who were involved in this terrorist incident. It was eventually determined the bombers had come from Jaffna
Jaffna
Jaffna is the capital city of the Northern Province, Sri Lanka. It is the administrative headquarters of the Jaffna district located on a peninsula of the same name. Jaffna is approximately six miles away from Kandarodai which served as a famous emporium in the Jaffna peninsula from classical...
, in the north of the country and were LTTE members http://www.cnn.com/WORLD/9601/sri_lanka_bomb/index.html.
This bombing, and one in July on a train that killed more than 70, caused tourism to plummet 40% in Sri Lanka. Until 2006, the Central Bank bombing was the deadliest LTTE bombing of the civil war.
Suicide Bombers
Attack was mainly carried out by three LTTE cadres. While one of them died immediately the rest were taken into custody by the police. The suicide bombers were:- Raju (main bomber)
- Subramanium Vigneswaram alias Kittu
- Sivasamy Dharmendra alias Raju
Immediately after the bombing several tourists and local and foreign travel agencies received calls from Ellalan Force, a front organization of LTTE, to boycott Sri Lanka.
Criminal Indictment
Eleven LTTE members were charged with the bombing of the Central Bank, ten of them were indicted on a total of 712 counts, including intention to cause death and committing murder, destruction of state property by attacking the central bank, and provoking violenceIn 2002 Judge Sarath Ambepitiya
Sarath Ambepitiya
Sarath Ambepitiya was a Sri Lankan judge. He was serving as the Judge of the Colombo High Court when he was assassinated...
issued an open warrant to arrest LTTE's exclusive leader, Velupillai Prabhakaran
Velupillai Prabhakaran
Thiruvenkadam Velupillai Prabhakaran was the founder and leader of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam , a militant organization that sought to create an independent Tamil state in the north and east of Sri Lanka...
in connection with the 1996 Central Bank Bombing.http://www.spur.asn.au/LTTE_Atrocities_Central_Bank_in_Colombo.htm The judge found him guilty on 51 counts and sentenced him to 200 years in prison http://www.spur.asn.au/News_2002_Nov_03_to_04.htm
See also
- List of massacres in Sri Lanka
- List of attacks attributed to the LTTE
- List of attacks attributed to Sri Lankan government forces