The 2006 Digampathaha (දිගම්පතහ, திகம்பதஹ) truck bombing, also known as Habarana massacre, was a suicide truck bombing carried out by the

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

against a convoy of 15 military buses on 16 October 2006 at Digampathaha (Incorrectly reported as Digampathana), in between the towns of

Dambulla Dambulla ( si, දඹුල්ල ''Dam̆bulla'', ta, தம்புள்ளை ''Tampuḷḷai'') is a town situated in the north of Matale District, Central Province of Sri Lanka. It is the second largest populated and urbanised centre aft ...

and

Habarana Habarana ( si, හබරණ, translit=Habaraṇa; ta, அபரணை, translit=Aparaṇai) is a small city in the Anuradhapura District of Sri Lanka. The location has some mid-range and up hotels aimed at package tourists, and is a departure poi ...

, in

Sri Lanka Sri Lanka (, ; si, ශ්‍රී ලංකා, Śrī Laṅkā, translit-std=ISO (); ta, இலங்கை, Ilaṅkai, translit-std=ISO ()), formerly known as Ceylon and officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, is an ...

. The buses were carrying more than 200 (possibly 340 (Link dead as of 15 January 2007)) sailors from

Trincomalee Trincomalee (; ta, திருகோணமலை, translit=Tirukōṇamalai; si, ත්‍රිකුණාමළය, translit= Trikuṇāmaḷaya), also known as Gokanna and Gokarna, is the administrative headquarters of the Trincomalee Dis ...

who were going on

leave Leave may refer to: * Permission (disambiguation) ** Permitted absence from work *** Leave of absence, a period of time that one is to be away from one's primary job while maintaining the status of employee *** Annual leave, allowance of time away ...

. The bombing killed between 92 and 103 sailors and wounded more than 150 people, including over 100 sailors. The bombing also killed a number of civilians, including eight employees of the Sri Lankan military, and wounded many passers-by and roadside traders. The suicide bombing followed intense fighting in the Jaffna Peninsula that left 133 soldiers and up to 200 LTTE fighters dead (although this number is unofficial, as the LTTE have reported losing only 22 fighters). The attack was followed by government air strikes on LTTE territory, although the military claimed they were in response to an artillery attack and not the suicide bombing. In January 2009 Sri Lankan authorities arrested a suspect, Balachandran, who reportedly helped construct the bomb used in the attack. The attack had been planned at least three months in advance.http://www.lankatimes.com/fullstory.php?id=19739

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Digampathana Bombing, 2006 2006 murders in Sri Lanka 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 against buses Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam attacks in Eelam War IV Mass murder in 2006 October 2006 crimes October 2006 events in Asia Suicide bombings in Sri Lanka Suicide car and truck bombings in Asia Terrorist incidents in Sri Lanka in 2006