The Colombo World Trade Centre Bombing was a terrorist attack which occurred on 15 October 1997 and was carried out by the LTTE during the separatist

civil war A civil war or intrastate war is a war between organized groups within the same state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies ...

in Sri Lanka between the government and the

Tamil Tigers The Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE; ta, தமிழீழ விடுதலைப் புலிகள், translit=Tamiḻīḻa viṭutalaip pulikaḷ, si, දෙමළ ඊළාම් විමුක්ති කොටි, t ...

Attack

Shortly before 7:00 am on 15 October 1997 a group of up to six fighters from the LTTE’s Black Tigers drove a truck laden with approximately explosives into the car park of the Galadari Hotel, a five-star luxury hotel, located in the heart of Colombo’s business and government district, where they shot and killed four unarmed security guards. They then detonated the explosives by firing an RPG at the truck. The terrorists, armed with assault rifles, disbursed and made their way into nearby government buildings and the five-story building that houses Sri Lanka's state-run newspapers where they fought security forces for several hours until they were either killed, or blew themselves up, or ingested cyanide pills. The Galadari Hotel car park is located adjacent to the western tower of the Colombo World Trade Centre, two 39-storey office towers that housed the Colombo Stock Exchange and the Information Ministry at the time. Since the Colombo World Trade Centre was inaugurated a few days before, it was suspected to be the main target of the LTTE. Damage to the hotel and nearby buildings, including the Hilton Hotel and the World Trade Centre, was heavy but not structurally catastrophic. The bomb crater was wide and deep. The blast destroyed 30 cars in the Galadari parking lot and shattered all the hotel’s windows as well as the windows on all the nearby buildings. The attack killed fifteen people, including an

Assistant Superintendent Assistant superintendent, or assistant superintendent of police (ASP), is a rank that was used by police forces in the British Empire and is still used in many police forces in the Commonwealth. It was usually the lowest rank that could be held b ...

of Police in the

Criminal Investigations Department The Criminal Investigation Department (CID) is the branch of a police force to which most plainclothes detectives belong in the United Kingdom and many Commonwealth nations. A force's CID is distinct from its Special Branch (though officers of b ...

, Nissanka Dharmaratne, a police constable, an Army Commando and the Viharadhipathi (Chief Priest) of the Sambuddhaloka Vihara, Ven. Vitharandeniye Thera. There were 105 were wounded including 31 tourists of which seven were US citizens.Galadari Hotel Bomb
/ref> The government set aside a $25 million assistance package for all buildings damaged in the attack, with the Galadari Hotel reopening in January 1998 and the World Trade Center in June of the same year.

References

External links

Galadari a Commemoration
Suicide bombings in 1997 20th century in Colombo Attacks on civilians attributed to the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam Car and truck bombings in Sri Lanka Massacres in Sri Lanka Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam attacks in Eelam War III Mass murder in 1997 Mass murder of Sinhalese October 1997 events in Asia October 1997 crimes Suicide bombings in Sri Lanka Terrorist incidents in Sri Lanka in 1997 Building bombings in Sri Lanka World Trade Centers Terrorist incidents in Colombo {{SriLanka-hist-stub

Attack

See also

References

External links