Terrorism-related Incidents outside the Northeast and Colombo, 2008

May 5: Police on May 2 arrested two youths in the Pasyala area of Gampaha district for extorting money from a leading businessmen posing off as LTTE operatives, Officer-in-Charge Nittambuwa C.I. Vipula Seneviratna said, adding, "The suspects had called businessmen and threatened them to part with large sums of money or face death." The two suspects, identified as Gemini and Shiyam, had been carrying out extortion for a long period in the Nittambuwa, Ja-ela and Wattala areas posing as LTTE cadres.

April 29: The Bandaragama Police recovered 10 gelignite slabs, two-kgs of ammonium nitrate, 400-grams of explosive powder, four detonators, one flexible wire roll, five-kgs of iron nuts and bolts and three-kgs of iron nails from the Veedagama area of Kalutara district.

April 28: One civilian, identified as U. Jayawardhana, was killed when his motorbike hit a LTTE laid claymore mine at Yakawewa in the Kebithigollewa area of Anuradhapura district.

The police recovered a powerful bomb from the central bus stand at Galgamuwa area in the Kurunegala district.

April 22: The SFs during a search conducted on a house in the Karuwalagaswewa area of Puttalam recovered one claymore mine, one shot gun with 45 ammunition, one 2-m-long detonator code, 10-m of flexible wire, one electric detonator code, one sword and one sabre.

April 16: Suspected LTTE militants are reported to have destroyed two power transformers in Kandy. The transformers supply power to Yakgahawewa and Panwila areas in Kandy covering over 25,000 households.

During a routine search conducted on vehicles in the Pethavadiya area of Puttalam district, the police seized a vehicle carrying 663 bags of explosives, each containing 150-gm and seven rolls of 35 ft-long detonator codes. Two persons aboard the vehicle were arrested.

April 15: Two civil security officers were injured in a LTTE-triggered claymore mine explosion in the Kebithigollewa area of Anuradhapura district.

April 9: Police recovered a large stock of TNT explosives from Nilagammana in the Kandy district. Approximately 110 pounds of TNT explosive slabs were found on information obtained from an LTTE militant arrested recently who swallowed a cyanide capsule following the arrest. The militant is presently undergoing treatment at the Peradeniya hospital.

April 6: Sri Lanka Highway Minister and chief government whip Jeyaraj Fernandopulle and 13 others were killed in a suicide attack carried out by the LTTE at a sporting event in the Weliweriya area, about 25-km north of capital Colombo, of Gampaha district. Fernandopulle was about to inaugurate a marathon when a suspected LTTE suicide bomber disguised as a marathon runner blew himself up, killing the Minister and at least 11 others, including National Athletic coach Lakshman De Alwis and Olympic marathon runner and national record holder K.A. Karunaratna. Over 90 people, including Gampaha Division Senior Superintendent of Police Hector Darmasiri, were injured in the blast.

Two persons were injured in an LTTE triggered claymore mine explosion at Halmillawetya in the Kebithigollewa area of Anuradhapura district that targeting a combined route clearing team of the Special Task Force and Civil Security Officers.

Two Ceylon Electricity Board electric transformers at 8th milepost of Arambepura, on the Kandy – Matale road, in the Kandy district were blown up with explosives by suspected LTTE militants, Colombo Page reported.

April 2: Suspected LTTE militants killed a man and his son when they had gone to collect firewood in the Anuradhapura district.

March 29: The Deputy Chairman of the Moneragala local council, Dr. A. Muththulingam, was shot dead in his clinic by unidentified gunmen.

March 19: The Medawachchi police seized a large stock of explosives and accessories from a van which was proceeding towards Mannar in the Anuradhapura district. The seizure included 242 gelignite rods and 125-meters of detonator cord. The driver and another suspect were arrested.

March 17: The police recovered a hand grenade inside a privately owned bus transporting schoolchildren at Palmadulla in the Ratnapura. The bus driver was arrested in this connection.

March 14: Troops found a parcel containing fourteen 9-mm pistol rounds inside a Matara bound bus passenger bus at Wellawaya in the Moneragala district.

March 12: Police arrested a teacher in Kandy who is alleged to have had connections with the LTTE intelligence wing. The teacher is suspected to have received training from the outfit and is reported to have attended the funeral of the outfit's political wing leader S.P. Thamilselvam who was killed in an air strike in November 2007.

March 8: A soldier was killed and two others were injured in a claymore mine explosion triggered by the LTTE on the old Buttala road in the Hambantota district.

March 5: One soldier was killed and another sustained injuries in an LTTE-triggered improvised explosive device explosion in the Eluwankulama sector of the Puttalam sector.

March 1: The troops detected and defused a claymore mine placed near an electricity transformer in the Mahawewa area on Negombo - Puttalam road.

February 28: The Kalpitiya police recovered three huge claymore mines, seven hand grenades and one remote controller from a shrub near Kalpitiya lagoon in the Puttalam district.

February 19: Supply of electricity to many residential areas of Mundalama in the Puttalam district was disrupted when suspected LTTE militants destroyed a wayside transformer using explosives.

An unidentified mob stormed the house of a person, who had been allegedly hired by the LTTE to assassinate Deputy Minster of Finance Ranjith Siyambalpitiya, at Adurupana in the Kegalle district and set it ablaze after removing the residents, police sources said, adding, the suspected hired assassin was an army deserter. Police recently arrested the suspect along with four others on the suspicion of undertaking a contract worth of two million rupees from the outfit to assassinate Minister Siyambalapitiya.

An intelligence operative of the LTTE, identified as Thangarajah Shiwakumar, was arrested by the police at Wanathawilluwa in the Kalpitiya area of Puttalam district. The suspect a resident at Olumaduwai in the Mannar district had reportedly come to the Kerathivu area three days ago in order to gather information necessary for a terrorist attack in the Kalpitiya, Wanathavilluwa or Puttlama areas.

February 2: At least 20 passengers, including some Buddhist devotees on a pilgrimage to the sacred Anuradhapura city, aboard a bus were killed and 50 others injured when the LTTE militants detonated an explosive device at Dambulla bus stand in the Matale district.

February 1: Five soldiers were injured due to the explosion of an LTTE laid booby trap at Mullikulam in the Mannar district.

Three soldiers were injured due to the explosion of an anti-personnel mine (APM) at Mullikulam and Kokkuthuduvai in the Vavuniya district.

January 31: A soldier sustained injuries due to an APM explosion in the Pilimagala area of Hambantota district.

January 21: A team of police personnel who were providing security at Allimankada in the Kithulkote area of Thanamalwila in the Moneragala district confronted a group of LTTE militants and in the ensuing gun-battle, three policemen were killed.

January 17: At least 10 civilians, including two home guards, were shot dead by the LTTE militants at Hambegamuwa in the Thanamalwila area of Moneragala district.

January 16: At least 26 civilians, including some school children and women, aboard a Central Transport Bus proceeding to the Buttala town of Moneragala district, were killed and 67 others injured in a claymore mine explosion triggered by the LTTE in the Helagama area near Ella road. The bus was simultaneously fired upon by the militants immediately after the claymore mine explosion.

A group of four LTTE militants, allegedly scurrying back into the jungles minutes after triggering the claymore mine explosion targeting the passenger bus, also reportedly shot dead five farmers in their paddy-fields at Dambeyaya in the Heentenna area.

The same group of militants activated a claymore mine targeting a military Unicorn truck, about 2-km north of Galge, on the Buttala–Kataragama road and injured three soldiers.