This article includes a list of general references, but it lacks sufficient corresponding inline citations. Please help to improve this article by introducing more precise citations.(July 2023) (Learn how and when to remove this message)
Stanley Road bombing
Date
4 July 1996
Target
Nimal Siripala de Silva, Minister of Housing, Construction and Public Utilities
Attack type
suicide bombing
Weapons
Suicide vest
Deaths
23
Injured
59
Perpetrators
Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam
The Stanley Road bombing was a suicide bombing carried out by the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) during the separatist civil war in Sri Lanka between the government and the Tamil Tigers.
Nimal Siripala de Silva, Minister of Housing, Construction and Public Utilities, who was the Chairman of the Presidential Task Force on Northern Rehabilitation arrived in Jaffna at 9 AM on 4 July 1996 on visit to supervise on-going reconstruction projects.[1] Following a discussion related to the reconstruction of Jaffna and a book distribution ceremony at the Holy Family Convent, Jaffna; the Minister the proceed to attend the opening ceremony for the new Building Materials Corporation (BMC) outlet on Stanley Road.[2]
After the opening ceremony the minister walked to the SLAMC Mitsubishi Pajero vehicle he was using during the visit to head to his next meeting with officers in charge of rehabilitation work at the Jaffna Kachcheri. The Pajero was driving by Brigadier Ananda Hamangoda, Brigade Commander, 512 "Jaffna" Brigade, while the minister sat on front passenger seat. Ranjit Godamuduna, chairman of Lanka Cement Ltd, and a body guard were to sit in the back.[1][2]
Just as the minister got into the vehicle around 12:45pm, a seemingly pregnant woman dressed in a white blouse with two bags in her hand moved forward from the crown and approached the entourage.[1] A Quick Reaction Team (QRT) motorbike driven by Lance Corporal W. I. M. Seneviratne with Private Pushpakumara was 20m away. Suspecting a suicide bomber, Seneviratne immediately maneuvered his bike to block her path. With nowhere to go, the woman detonated the explosives strapped onto her body, killing herself and Seneviratne instantly.[3]
The blast killed 23 people including Brigadier Ananda Hamangoda, de Silva's security office Police Constable Banda and the chairman of Lanka Cement Ranjit Godamuduna, all of whom were inside the same vehicle as the Minister. 11 civilians were killed including Carlyle Dias, a retired Senior Superintendent of Police who came out of retirement to serve as the Civil Affairs Officer (CAO) in Jaffna, and BMC official A. A. Dissanayake were also among 11 civilians killed in the blast.[1][2] 59 were wounded including Minister de Silva who suffered injuries to his forehead, and was taken to the Palaly military hospital for emergency treatment.
Describing the suicide attack, Sunday Times columnist Iqbal Athas wrote
The message was quite clear. The LTTE would use the techniques it acquired to become one of the world's deadliest guerrilla outfits against its own people, the people whom it vowed to protect in the so-called state of Eelam it pledged to create.
For sacrificing his life to save Minister de Silva, Lance Corporal Seneviratne was awarded the highest award for gallantry presented by the Sri Lanka Army Parama Weera Vibhushanaya.
^ abcd"Nimal Siripala de Silva injured when suicide cyclist attacks convoy". Daily News. 7 August 2009. Retrieved 11 June 2010.[dead link]
^ abc"Situation Report: How 2 brave soldiers saved minister". Sunday Times. 7 July 1996. Retrieved 11 June 2010.
^"In defence of a Minister". Sunday Times. 5 November 2000. Retrieved 11 June 2010.
and 26 Related for: Stanley Road bombing information
The StanleyRoadbombing was a suicide bombing carried out by the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) during the separatist civil war in Sri Lanka...
59. United States Strategic Bombing Survey (June 1946). "U. S. Strategic Bombing Survey: The Effects of the Atomic Bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki"...
of terror bombing, in which civilians were deliberately targeted in order to break the will or aid the collapse of an enemy. After the bombing of Guernica...
separatist group, was implicated in the bombing. Although a handful of people were arrested and tried for the Air India bombing, the only person convicted was...
Stanley Kubrick (/ˈkuːbrɪk/; July 26, 1928 – March 7, 1999) was an American film director, screenwriter, producer, and photographer. Widely considered...
bombing has been used to this end. The phrase "terror bombing" entered the English lexicon towards the end of World War II and many strategic bombing...
strategic bombing of railways, harbours, cities, workers' and civilian housing, and industrial districts in enemy territory. Strategic bombing as a military...
him after discovering Frank is alive. Tarconi questions Frank about the bombing of his car, which Frank claims was stolen, and Lai supports his alibi by...
right-wing militia movement, Ruby Ridge, the Waco siege and Oklahoma City bombing. Ehren Kruger wrote the script, which won the Academy of Motion Picture...
Day Wing, Northern Bombing Group. He was detached to the United States in January 1919. For distinguished service in leading bombing raids against the...
Following the 1983 United States embassy bombing, 1983 Beirut barracks bombings, and the 1984 U.S. embassy annex bombing, the U.S. military considered a range...
November 1975: Scott's Oyster Bar bombing - one killed and 15 hurt. 17 November 1975: Walton's Restaurant bombing: A bomb was thrown through a window into...
related to Darwin bombings. Library resources about Bombing of Darwin Resources in your library Resources in other libraries Bombing of Darwin, Northern...
a list of eccentric millionaires in 1972 in San Francisco, identifying Stanley Marsh 3 of Amarillo amongst those who might be able to fund one of their...
related to secondary schools 38 people were killed in the school bombing, 5 in the truck bombing (including Kehoe). He killed his wife at their farm sometime...
Ireland. The bomb killed two teenagers Geraldine O'Reilly (15) and Patrick Stanley (16). Nobody claimed responsibility for the bombing but security services...
Air India Flight 182 bombing. The federal government spent approximately $800,000 to build the memorial and playground. Stanley Park is home to one of...
Suffragettes in Great Britain and Ireland orchestrated a bombing and arson campaign between the years 1912 and 1914. The campaign was instigated by the...
fellow Ulster Unionist James Chichester-Clark. 5 August: RTE Studio bombing – a bomb damaged the front of the RTÉ Television Centre in Donnybrook, Dublin...
through strategic bombing (also called terror bombing), and personally ordered the Aviazione Legionaria to conduct a "continuous bombing of Barcelona diluted...
details of the extent of the bombing of Cambodia, as well as of Laos and Vietnam. According to the data, the air force began bombing the rural regions of Cambodia...
Operation Linebacker II, sometimes referred to as the Christmas bombings, was a strategic bombing campaign conducted by the United States against targets in...
B roads are numbered routes in Great Britain of lesser importance than A roads. See the article Great Britain road numbering scheme for the rationale behind...
Hampstead Road/Camden High Street, at Mornington Crescent tube station, via Holborn, Bloomsbury, Euston and Somerstown. Kingsway is a major road in central...
was enough fuel to fly 260 Sea Harrier bombing missions over Port Stanley. Which in turn meant just over 1300 bombs. Interesting stuff!" Chun 2001, p. 230...
Success depended on taking advantage of the paralysing effect of the bombing. The bombing was not concentrated—only 50 percent landed a mile or less from the...
Global Information