Suicide Bombing was a popular tactic of 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 ...

of attacking enemies to maximize enemy casualties and minimize attacker's casualties. According to

Jane's Information Group Jane's Information Group, now styled Janes, is a global open-source intelligence company specialising in military, national security, aerospace and transport topics, whose name derives from British author Fred T. Jane. History Jane's Informatio ...

, between 1980 and 2000, the LTTE carried out 168 suicide attacks causing heavy damage to mainly military targets, but in some cases also to economic and civilian targets.

History

The first prominent suicide bombing by the LTTE occurred in 1987 when

Captain Miller Vallipuram Vasanthan ( ta, வல்லிப்புரம் வசந்தன்; 1 January 1966 – 5 July 1987; commonly known by the nom de guerre Captain Miller) was a Sri Lankan Tamil member of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam ( ...

drove a truck laden with explosives into a Sri Lankan army camp killing 40 soldiers. He is heralded by the LTTE as the first

Black Tiger A black tiger is a rare colour variant of the tiger, and is not a distinct species or geographic subspecies. Description There are reports and one painting (now lost) of pure black non-striped tigers (true melanistic tigers). Most black mammal ...

By LTTE

The Sri Lankan economy and the

Sri Lankan Army ta, இலங்கை இராணுவம் , image = File:Sri Lanka Army Logo.png , image_size = 180px , caption = Emblem of the Sri Lanka Army , start_date ...

have been targeted on numerous occasions, including during a high-profile attack on Colombo's International Airport (

Bandaranaike Airport attack The Bandaranaike Airport attack was an assault by the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) on Bandaranaike International Airport, on July 24, 2001. The attack was one of the boldest the LTTE mounted during its war with the Sri Lankan govern ...

) in 2001 that caused damage to several commercial airliners and military jets . On 31 January 1996, the LTTE's Black Tigers carried out the

Colombo Central Bank bombing The Central Bank bombing was one of the deadliest attacks carried out by the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) during the separatist civil war in Sri Lanka between the government and the Tamil Tigers. Incident The attack took place on 31 ...

that killed 100 people and injured 1400 others. The LTTE was also responsible for a 1998 attack on the Buddhist shrine, and

UNESCO World Heritage Site A World Heritage Site is a landmark or area with legal protection by an international convention administered by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). World Heritage Sites are designated by UNESCO for h ...

Sri Dalada Maligawa The Temple of the Sacred Tooth Relic or Sri Dalada Maligawa, ( si, ශ්‍රී දළදා මාළිගාව) is a Buddhist temple in Kandy, Sri Lanka. It is located in the royal palace complex of the former Kingdom of Kandy, which h ...

Kandy Kandy ( si, මහනුවර ''Mahanuwara'', ; ta, கண்டி Kandy, ) is a major city in Sri Lanka located in the Central Province. It was the last capital of the ancient kings' era of Sri Lanka. The city lies in the midst of hills ...

that killed 8 worshippers. The attack was symbolic in that the shrine, which houses a sacred tooth of the

Buddha Siddhartha Gautama, most commonly referred to as the Buddha, was a śramaṇa, wandering ascetic and religious teacher who lived in South Asia during the 6th or 5th century BCE and founded Buddhism. According to Buddhist tradition, he was ...

, is the holiest Buddhist shrine in Sri Lanka. The LTTE's Black Tigers have carried out the assassination of

Rajiv Gandhi Rajiv Gandhi (; 20 August 1944 – 21 May 1991) was an Indian politician who served as the sixth prime minister of India from 1984 to 1989. He took office after the 1984 assassination of his mother, then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi, to beco ...

, who was killed in 1991 using a prototype suicide vest, and

Ranasinghe Premadasa Sri Lankabhimanya Ranasinghe Premadasa ( si, රණසිංහ ප්‍රේමදාස ''Raṇasiṃha Premadāsa'', ta, ரணசிங்க பிரேமதாசா ''Raṇaciṅka Pirēmatācā''; 23 June 1924 – 1 May 1993) was t ...

, assassinated in 1993.

Easter Sunday bombings

On Easter Sunday (21 April) 2019, approximately 250 people died in six separate suicide bombings in churches and hotels. The local group

National Thowheeth Jama'ath , country = Sri Lanka , leader = Moulvi Mohamed Cassim Mohamed Zahran , foundation = , dates = – , dissolved = , merger = , split = , predecessor = , merged ...

, was suspected.

List of suicide attacks

References

War crimes in Sri Lanka Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam {{sriLanka-stub

History

By LTTE

Easter Sunday bombings

List of suicide attacks

See also

References