Colombo: In one of the deadliest attacks in Sri Lanka, at least 103 naval personnel were killed and over 150 injured on Monday when LTTE rebels rammed a truck packed with explosives into their convoy of buses.
The bombers drove the explosive-laden truck into a transit point near Habarana, about 150 km from the Sri Lankan capital, Colombo, where about 15 buses with sailors were standing, police said adding that 340 troops were in the area at the time of the attack.
Officals said that the injured were airlifted to various hospitals.
The soldiers, they said, were travelling to and from the Trincomalee district in the island's north-east. Most of the victims were going home on leave while some were returning to their posts.
President Mahenda Rajapakse's office, in a statement, said, "The bombing was further proof of LTTE's unmitigated commitment to violence to achieve its aims and was in total disregard of international demands for it to abandon violence and seek peaceful means to achieve its goal."
"This shows that the Tigers are not interested in peace talks," government spokesman Keheliya Rambukwella said adding that Colombo was ready to go for talks later this month.
Terming it as an "inhuman act", a military statement said it "is a clear revenge by the terrorists on the navy who inflicted successive defeats over LTTE against their attempts of smuggling arms and explosives."
Monday's attack came after last week's major military debacle suffered by the security forces who lost 130 soldiers while 500 others were wounded.
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