At least 18 civilian passengers were killed and over 50 wounded when a powerful bomb went off inside a packed private passenger bus they were travelling at Dambulla town in the central Matale district on Saturday morning.
“The fully crowded privately-owned bus was travelling from Kandy to the Anuradhapura when the powerful bomb went off with deafening sound at Dambulla bus stand around 7.05 hours, killing 18 people onboard,” Military spokesman Brig Udaya Nanayakkara said.
Brig Nanayakkara said that most of the passengers travelling in the ill-fated bus were devotees travelling to take part in the pichcha mal (jasmine flower) pooja in the Anuradhapura sacred city. The defence ministry blamed the bombing on the Tamil Tiger rebels who have been fighting for decades for an independent homeland in the island.
“This is obviously the work of the LTTE terrorists who are unable to face the military operation in the north,” Brig Nanayakkara said, adding that the wounded passengers have been rushed to Dambulla, Matale and Kurunagala hospitals.
The latest bomb blast has occurred when the security arrangements throughout the country, mainly in and around the capital city of Colombo have been stepped up ahead of the 60th Independence Day celebration on February 4.
The key national event is scheduled to take at Galle Face Green in the heart of Colombo city with military parades that would showcase the military strength of the government security forces.
