2 injured in mine explosion on outskirts of Colombo

Colombo, June 6: At least two civilians were injured when a powerful claymore mine by the suspected LTTE hit a bus near a Naval base on the outskirts of the Sri Lankan capital today, military sources here said.

''A powerful LTTE claymore mine targeting a navy convoy has hit a civilian bus at Welisara near Mahabage on the very outskirts of Colombo around 0415 hrs this morning. The driver and the conductor were injured in the explosion,'' Military Spokesman, Brig Prasad Samarasinghe told UNI over phone.

This is probably for the first time in the recent history that a claymore mine attack has been carried out outside the restive North-East region, where the claymore mine explosions have become a daily event.

''It is definitely the work of the LTTE. It shows their sheer desperation as they do not worry about the civilian casualties,'' Brig Samarasinghe said.

The mine explosion has taken place exactly a day after the government and the LTTE delegations left for Oslo for a two-day direct talks on matters relating to the functions and safety of the Nordic truce monitors.

The five-member LTTE delegation, led by its political wing head S P Thamilselvan, which was flown down to Colombo on a special military helicopter left for Oslo from the country's only international airport in the early hours of yesterday.

The four-member government delegation led by the head of the government peace secretariat, Dr. Palitha Kohona also left for Oslo yesterday with the hope that the LTTE would also agree to the next round peace talks in Geneva.

In the absence of prolonged contact between the two sides and amidst an upsurge in violence in the North-East, the Norwegian facilitators invited the parties to Oslo for a two-day meeting commencing on June 8 and the talks will focus only on the safety of the 60-member Sri Lanka Monitoring Mission comprising monitors from five Scandinavian countries.

It was only on April 25 that a suspected LTTE cadre, pretending as a pregnant woman jumped onto the army chief's car and blew herself up inside the heavily-guarded army headquarters in the heart of the Colombo city, killing at least eleven people and wounding 25 more, including the army chief, Lt Gen Sarath Fonseka.

There was no immediate reaction from the LTTE in this regard so far.

UNI