2008 Piliyandala bus bombing

Bombing of a commuter bus in Piliyandala, Sri Lanka 2008 Piliyandala bombing Colombo district.svg Colombo District highlighted within Sri Lanka Piliyandala, Colombo, Sri Lanka April 25, 2008 18:45Athas, Iqbal Deadly bus bomb in Sri Lanka kills 23 http://edition.cnn.com/2008/WORLD/asiapcf/04/25/srilanka.bomb/ CNN April 23, 2008 2008-04-30 https://web.archive.org/web/20080521094030/http://edition.cnn.com/2008/WORLD/asiapcf/04/25/srilanka.bomb/ 21 May 2008 live UTC+5:30 parcel bombing 26 64 Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (suspected) The 2008 Piliyandala bombing was a bombing of a commuter bus carried out on April 25, 2008 in Piliyandala, Sri Lanka, a suburb of Colombo. The bombing killed 26 and injured at least 64,Jayasinghe, Amal Sri Lanka fears more bombings as bus toll hits 26 http://www.france24.com/en/20080426-sri-lanka-fears-more-bombings-bus-toll-hits-26 France 24 April 26, 2008 2008-04-28 https://web.archive.org/web/20080521041148/http://www.france24.com/en/20080426-sri-lanka-fears-more-bombings-bus-toll-hits-26 May 21, 2008 dead and was the first major attack against civilians on the island since the April 6 Weliveriya bombing that killed Highways Minister Jeyaraj Fernandopulle and national athletics coach Lakshman de Alwis. It was also the deadliest bus bombing since the January 16 attack on a civilian bus at Buttala. Buncombe, Andrew Dozens killed in Sri Lankan bus bomb https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/asia/dozens-killed-in-sri-lankan-bus-bomb-815865.html The Independent April 26, 2008 2008-04-30 https://web.archive.org/web/20080428020536/http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/asia/dozens-killed-in-sri-lankan-bus-bomb-815865.html 28 April 2008 live The bombing took place amid a government offensive against the separatist Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) in the island's north. Many dead in Sri Lanka bus blast https://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/7367468.stm BBC News April 25, 2008 2008-04-25 https://web.archive.org/web/20080426233252/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/7367468.stm 26 April 2008 live Details The blast was caused by a parcel bomb deposited "on an overhead rack near the front of the bus", and took place during the evening peak hour.Tamil Tigers Suspected in Rush-Hour Bus Bombing in Sri Lanka http://voanews.com/english/2008-04-25-voa36.cfm Voice of America April 25, 2008 2008-04-25 https://web.archive.org/web/20080430020148/http://voanews.com/english/2008-04-25-voa36.cfm 2008-04-30 dead The explosion, which came as the bus began to drive away from a bus stand in the residential neighbourhood of Piliyandala in southern Colombo, tore off the vehicle's roof and destroyed windows of nearby structures. According to police, the blast killed 26 people—ten at the scene of blast, 14 en route to hospital, and two in hospital—and injured at least 64 others. The deceased included a Buddhist monk, a 10-year-old boy and eight women. Lakshman Hulugalle, a spokesman for the government of Sri Lanka, blamed the LTTE for the attack, stating: With the heavy defeats that the LTTE is having in the North during the last two to three days, I think that the terrorists have again turned to [attacking] the innocent civilian who does not carry any arms or gun. President Mahinda Rajapaksa later echoed these sentiments, Military: Police defuse time bomb at Sri Lankan bus station http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2008/04/28/asia/AS-GEN-Sri-Lanka-Civil-War.php International Herald Tribune April 28, 2008 2008-04-30 https://web.archive.org/web/20080501123535/http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2008/04/28/asia/AS-GEN-Sri-Lanka-Civil-War.php 1 May 2008 live claiming that the LTTE "had once again resorted to killing innocent civilians in the face of heavy setbacks on the battlefield". Nessman, Ravi Sri Lanka president condemns bus bombing http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5gZGcTRtJMZLW0vCle1z0quu3y2TgD909FUFO2 Associated Press April 26, 2008 2008-04-30 https://web.archive.org/web/20080521093047/http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5gZGcTRtJMZLW0vCle1z0quu3y2TgD909FUFO2 2008-05-21 Arrests The Sri Lankan police arrested a man, Sityanadan Anandan Sudhakaran, alias Wasanthan, in connection with the bombing. He had reportedly been ordered by the LTTE leadership to bomb a bus in order to maximize casualties, and detonated the explosives via remote control.COLOMBO: Piliyandala blast suspect was an expert in bus bombing makes several other daring revelations http://www.lankanewspapers.com/news/2008/5/27642_space.html https://web.archive.org/web/20110606065515/http://www.lankanewspapers.com/news/2008/5/27642_space.html 2011-06-06 live 2009-03-13 See also 2008 Sri Lanka roadside bombings References External links "In pictures: Colombo bus blast", BBC News, April 25, 2008. Sri Lanka Category:2008 crimes in Sri Lanka Category:Attacks on civilians attributed to the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam Category:2000s massacres in the Sri Lankan civil war Category:Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam attacks against buses Category:Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam attacks in Eelam War IV Category:2008 mass murders Category:Terrorist incidents in Sri Lanka in 2008 Category:Massacres of Sinhalese people