Lankan army raids shopping mall, grabs Tamil woman

COLOMBO, Apr 28: Sri Lankan troops wearing motorcycle helmets stormed into a shopping mall in the capital Colombo today, Reuters witnesses said, grabbing a woman who police said they suspected was linked to Tamil Tiger rebels.

Police said they had received information that a woman suspected of the links to the Tamil Tigers was in the Majestic City shopping mall, and had arrested her. Two Reuters photographers were in the mall at the time.

''Soldiers stormed in through three doors,'' he said. ''They surrounded a table with a woman at it. They were waving guns everywhere. Then they took off, two on each motorcycle and the woman was taken in a van.'' Tensions on the island have been rising sharply, and a suspected Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam suicide attack on the army headquarters on Tuesday was followed by air strikes on rebel positions.

REUTERS