Incident Summary:

4/6/2008: On Sunday, a Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam militant blew himself up, killing 14 civilians, including the minister of highway and road development, Jeyaraj Fernandopulle, and injuring 83 others in Weliweriaya northeast of Colombo, Western, Sri Lanka. The suicide bomber blew himself up as the minister was flagging the start of a road marathon.

GTD ID:
200804060005

When:
2008-04-06

Country:
Sri Lanka

Region:
South Asia

Province/administrative
region/u.s. state:

Western

City:
Weliweriya

Location Details:
Weliweriaya, 19 km northeast of Colombo, Western, Sri Lanka.

Attack Information
Type of Attack (more) Bombing/Explosion
Successful Attack? (more) Yes
Target Information (more)
Target Type: Government (General)
Name of Entity
Specific Description The Minister of Highway and Road Development, Jeyaraj Fernandopulle,
Nationality of Target Sri Lanka
Additional Information
Hostages No
Ransom No
Property Damage Unknown
Extent of Property Damage Unknown
Value of Property Damage Unknown
Weapon Information
Type Sub-type
Explosives Suicide (carried bodily by human being)
Weapon Details
A suicide bomber detonated his explosives.
Additional Information
Suicide Attack?Yes
Part of Multiple Incident?No
Criterion 1 (more) Yes
Criterion 2 (more) Yes
Criterion 3 (more) Yes
Doubt Terrorism Proper (more) No
Perpetrator Group Information
Group Name Claimed Responsibility
Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) No
Perpetrator Statistics
Number of Perpetrators 1
Number of Captured Perpetrators 0
Casualty Information
Total Number of Casualties 15 Fatalities / 83 Injured
Total Number of Fatalities 15
Number of U.S. Fatalities 0
Number of Perpetrator Fatalities 1
Total Number of Injured 83
Number of U.S. Injured 0
Number of Perpetrators Injured 0
Sources
Sri Lanka Ministry of Defence, "Death Toll Rises to 14 in LTTE Suicide Attack - Weliweriya," Sri Lanka Ministyr of Defence, April 6, 2008.
Al Jazeera, "Blast Kills Sri Lanka Minister," Al Jazeera, http://english.aljazeera.net/news/asia/2008/04/200852513422062439.html.