2008 Piliyandala bus bombing

Infobox civilian attack
title = 2008 Piliyandala bombing


caption =
location = Piliyandala, Colombo, Sri Lanka
coordinates =
date = April 25, 2008
time = 18:45 [cite news |author=Athas, Iqbal |title=Deadly bus bomb in Sri Lanka kills 23 |url=http://edition.cnn.com/2008/WORLD/asiapcf/04/25/srilanka.bomb/ |work=CNN |date= |accessdate=2008-04-30 ]
timezone = UTC+5:30
type = parcel bombing
fatalities = 26
injuries = 64
perp =
susperp = Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam
weapons =

The 2008 Piliyandala bombing was a bombing of a commuter bus carried out on April 25, 2008 in Piliyandala, Sri Lanka, a suburb of Colombo. The bombing killed 26 and injured at least 64,cite news
author = Jayasinghe, Amal
title = Sri Lanka fears more bombings as bus toll hits 26
url = http://www.france24.com/en/20080426-sri-lanka-fears-more-bombings-bus-toll-hits-26
work = France 24
date = April 26, 2008
accessdate = 2008-04-28 ] and was the first major attack against civilians on the island since the April 6 Weliveriya bombing that killed Highways Minister Jeyaraj Fernandopulle and national athletics coach Lakshman de Alwis. It was also the deadliest bus bombing since the January 16 attack on a civilian bus at Buttala. [cite news
author = Buncombe, Andrew
title = Dozens killed in Sri Lankan bus bomb
url = http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/asia/dozens-killed-in-sri-lankan-bus-bomb-815865.html
work = The Independent
date = April 26, 2008
accessdate = 2008-04-30 ]

The bombing took place amid a government offensive against the separatist Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) in the island's north.cite news
title = Many dead in Sri Lanka bus blast
url = http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/7367468.stm
work = BBC News
date = April 25, 2008
accessdate = 2008-04-25 ]

Details

The blast was caused by a parcel bomb deposited "on an overhead rack near the front of the bus", and took place during the evening peak hour.cite news
title = Tamil Tigers Suspected in Rush-Hour Bus Bombing in Sri Lanka
url = http://voanews.com/english/2008-04-25-voa36.cfm
work = Voice of America
date = April 25, 2008
accessdate = 2008-04-25 ] The explosion, which came as the bus began to drive away from a bus stand in the residential neighbourhood of Piliyandala in southern Colombo, tore off the vehicle's roof and destroyed windows of nearby structures.

According to police, the blast killed 26 people—ten at the scene of blast, 14 en route to hospital, and two in hospital—and injured at least 64 others. The deceased included a Buddhist monk, 10-year-old boy and eight women.

Lakshman Hulugalle, a spokesman for the government of Sri Lanka, blamed the LTTE for the attack, stating:

With the heavy defeats that the LTTE is having in the North during the last two to three days, I think that the terrorists have again turned to [attacking] the innocent civilian who does not carry any arms or gun.

President Mahinda Rajapaksa later echoed these sentiments, [cite news
title = Military: Police defuse time bomb at Sri Lankan bus station
url = http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2008/04/28/asia/AS-GEN-Sri-Lanka-Civil-War.php
work = International Herald Tribune
date = April 28, 2008
accessdate = 2008-04-30 ] claiming that the LTTE "had once again resorted to killing innocent civilians in the face of heavy setbacks on the battlefield". [cite news
author = Nessman, Ravi
title = Sri Lanka president condemns bus bombing
url = http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5gZGcTRtJMZLW0vCle1z0quu3y2TgD909FUFO2
work = Associated Press
date = April 26, 2008
accessdate = 2008-04-30 ]

See also

* 2008 Sri Lanka bus bombings
* List of attacks attributed to the LTTE
* Sri Lankan Civil War

References

External links

* " [http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/in_pictures/7367831.stm In pictures: Colombo bus blast] ", "BBC News", April 25, 2008.