26 killed as LTTE explodes huge bomb near president's office

Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam militants exploded a huge bomb near the presidential secretariat in Colombo and fought pitched street battles with troops on Wednesday, leaving at least 26 people, 17 of them rebels, dead and more than 100 injured, officials said.

The massive blast, caused by a truck-bomb at the car park of the Galadari Hotel in the capital's business centre of Fort, was heard miles away and shattered the morning calm on the Buddhist holiday of Poya.

Besides the Galadari, two other luxury hotels in the vicinity -- the Hilton and Hotel Intercontinental, the 39-storeyed twin tower World Trade Centre, the multi-storeyed Bank of Ceylon tower and several other buildings were damaged in the blast.

They said three storeys of the World Trade Centre, a showpiece of foreign investment built at a cost of $ 110 million by Singapore investor S P Tao and inaugurated by President Chandrika Kumaratunga on Sunday, were badly damaged. Windows right up to the top of the skyscraper had been shattered.

Even before the blast took place, gunfire rang out around the Galadari opposite the presidential secretariat as an LTTE suicide squad in three vehicles crashed through the hotel's security barrier, gunning down three unarmed security guards.

Military sources said the rebels then drove the truck packed with explosives to the rear of the car park, which adjoins the Hilton and the World Trade Centre.

A guest at the Hilton, David Nuberry said, on hearing the gunfire, he looked out through the window and saw three "terrorists" in camouflage uniforms firing rocket propelled grenades from the direction of the hotel's sports complex.

"I ducked and peered over and there was a big blast and the window caved in and fell over me," said Nuberry, a Cathay Pacific employee, who had severe lacerations on his back and feet. He said the commander of his flight, who was also at the Hilton, lost consciousness.

Ratnam Tamizhakkaran, a chemical engineer from Madras who was also at the hotel, said he heard the sound of gunfire and called a local friend, who assured him it was fire crackers. "Suddenly there was a huge blast and the windows, the television and everything else in the room were shattered. I rushed out of the room in my dhoti.''

The hotel guests were evacuated to the nearby Intercontinental.

Even before reverberations of the blast died down, the sound of gunfire interspersed with explosions rent the air as groups of rebels and troops fought a pitched battle on the streets.

There was heavy firing around the state-run Lake House Group newspaper building, a prominent landmark. Sources said four or five armed LTTE rebels were inside the large building in the Fort area.

Lake House sources said the rebels had even gone to the canteen and asked for water and one of them accepted a meal packet offered by one of the employees.

Military sources said about a dozen army commandos were injured in the gun battle with the militants, who remained holed up inside the building for several hours.

It was not immediately clear whether the rebels were shot dead or committed suicide by swallowing cyanide capsules.

The car park at the Galadari resembled a graveyard of vehicles, reduced to mangled and twisted metal under the impact of the blast.

Eyewitnesses said the truck in which the explosives were packed had been blown to smithereens, but a large quantity of rice grains littering the area indicated that the bomb was concealed in rice bags.

Kumaratunga, who sent her personal security vehicles to evacuate the wounded from the hotels, expressed concern over the attack, Tourism Minister Dharmasiri Senanayake said.

Quoting the president, he said the rebel strike could affect the tourism industry, which had started showing signs of recovery after the bombing of the central bank, less than 200 metres from Wednesday's blast site, in January 1996 that left nearly 100 people dead and over 1,300 wounded.

UNI

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