The Fort railway station bombing was a

suicide bombing A suicide attack is any violent attack, usually entailing the attacker detonating an explosive, where the attacker has accepted their own death as a direct result of the attacking method used. Suicide attacks have occurred throughout histor ...

of a

commuter train Commuter rail, or suburban rail, is a passenger rail transport service that primarily operates within a metropolitan area, connecting commuters to a central city from adjacent suburbs or commuter towns. Generally commuter rail systems are consi ...

while it was stopped at the Fort railway station, the main station in

Colombo Colombo ( ; si, කොළඹ, translit=Koḷam̆ba, ; ta, கொழும்பு, translit=Koḻumpu, ) is the executive and judicial capital and largest city of Sri Lanka by population. According to the Brookings Institution, Colombo me ...

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 ...

, on February 3, 2008. The bombing killed 12

civilian Civilians under international humanitarian law are "persons who are not members of the armed forces" and they are not "combatants if they carry arms openly and respect the laws and customs of war". It is slightly different from a non-combatant, b ...

s and injured more than 100. Killed in the attack were eight school children of

D. S. Senanayake College D. S. Senanayake College ( டி.எஸ் சேனாநாயக்க கல்லூரி ''D. S. Senanayaka Vidyalaya'', also referred to as DS and DSSC) is a Single-sex education, boys' Primary school, primary and Secondary school, sec ...

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each, taking turns batting and fielding. The game occurs over the course of several plays, with each play generally beginning when a player on the fielding tea ...

team and their coach/teacher-in-charge. The

government A government is the system or group of people governing an organized community, generally a state. In the case of its broad associative definition, government normally consists of legislature, executive, and judiciary. Government is a ...

said that the attack was carried out by a

female suicide bomber Female suicide bombers are women who carry out a suicide attack, wherein the bomber kills herself while simultaneously killing targeted people. Suicide bombers are normally viewed as male political radicals but since the 1960s female suicide attac ...

, belonging to

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

, who got down from a train and exploded during rush hour on Platform 3. Secretary of Defence

Gotabaya Rajapaksa Lieutenant Colonel Nandasena Gotabaya Rajapaksa ( si, නන්දසේන ගෝඨාභය රාජපක්ෂ; ta, நந்தசேன கோட்டாபய ராஜபக்ஷ; born 20 June 1949) is a former Sri Lankan militar ...

directed the

Criminal Investigation 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 ...

to investigate the bombing which led to the arrest of two suspects alongside

explosive An explosive (or explosive material) is a reactive substance that contains a great amount of potential energy that can produce an explosion if released suddenly, usually accompanied by the production of light, heat, sound, and pressure. An expl ...

s hidden in Colombo and the discovery of small business premises run by a LTTE

cell Cell most often refers to: * Cell (biology), the functional basic unit of life Cell may also refer to: Locations * Monastic cell, a small room, hut, or cave in which a religious recluse lives, alternatively the small precursor of a monastery ...

. The cell leader had left the country after the bombing.

References

External links

Heartbreak citySri Lanka railway station suicide blast kills 11, Reuters
{{Sri Lankan Civil War graphical timeline 2008 murders in Sri Lanka 21st century in Colombo 21st-century mass murder in Sri Lanka Attacks on buildings and structures in 2008 Attacks on buildings and structures in Sri Lanka Attacks on civilians attributed to the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam Attacks on railway stations Massacres in Sri Lanka Explosions in Colombo February 2008 crimes February 2008 events in Asia Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam attacks against trains Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam attacks in Eelam War IV Mass murder in 2008 Mass murder in Colombo Suicide bombings in 2008 Suicide bombings in Sri Lanka Terrorist incidents in Colombo Terrorist incidents in Sri Lanka in 2008 Train bombings in Asia Railway accidents in 2008

See also

References

External links