25 years ago: Dozens killed in Colombo suicide bombing by Tamil Terrorists
Twenty three years ago, on January 25th 1998 around 6:30 in the morning, the savage Tamil terrorists attacked the Sri Dalada Maligawa – one of the greatest national cultural treasures of our country. Built originally in the late 15th century, this fabulous architectural marvel is more than 550 years old, In the centuries that followed, additions and improvements were effected to the Maligawa by several kings making it one of the most captivating historic buildings in the country. This magnificent structure enshrines the sacred Tooth Relic of the Buddha which is the most sacred object of worship in the Buddhist world. It is of utmost symbolic value for Buddhists and the Nation as a whole, because from historic times the possession and custodianship of the Sacred Tooth Relic was tantamount to acquisition of the sovereignty of the nation. It was first brought to Sri Lanka in the fourth century CE and has been treated with utmost veneration by our kings of the past. The possession of the Sacred Tooth Relic was required for a king to be acknowledged as the ruler of the country.
https://www.sinhalanet.net/dalada-maligawa-attacked-on-january-25-1998-3
On January 31, 1996, a suicide truck bomb carrying 440 pounds of explosives blew up in the downtown center of Colombo, killing nearly 100 people. Many victims were severely burned, leaving relatives identifying bodies with great difficulty.
The number of seriously injured victims exceeded 1,200, overwhelming the city’s emergency facilities, despite the efforts of doctors and nurses who diligently attended to those injured. About 20 more people died in the hospital and 70 more were permanently blinded. Even more were disabled from their injuries.
Scores of bodies were believed to be trapped under the debris resulting from the collapse of a part of the Central Bank building, which was the main target of the bombing. Many other high-rise buildings in the surrounding area caught fire when the bomb exploded. It was only the spontaneous intervention of people in the vicinity, who rushed to help, that prevented the death toll from climbing much higher.
The Tamil separatist terrorist movement, the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), was responsible for the attack, whose victims were mostly Sinhalese workers.
“It is a tragic fact, and irrefutable testimony to the reactionary politics of the LTTE, that its bomb killed and injured scores of innocent civilians mostly Sinhalese.
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