Sri Lankan newspaper Daily Mirror has reported that a soldier who is believed to have been behind the bomb explosion targeting a school van in Kurunegala in the north has been arrested and is now in police custody.
“The soldier had reportedly vacated his post at a nearby army camp, planted the bomb in the van and returned undetected. A 12-year-old schoolgirl died and eleven others, including eight schoolchildren, were injured in the explosion,” the report said.
“The explosion had occurred at the van owner’s residence as the driver started the engine of the van. The injured adults had come to the van owner’s home accompanying the children who were to go in the van.”
It was the first major bomb explosion after the forces had militarily defeated the LTTE in May this year. The incident has baffled observers as explosions and suicide bombings were the hallmark of Tigers.
In a report on the incident, TamilNet, a website, said the soldier in question was an explosives expert attached to the Minneriya camp in Polonnaruwa. “The soldier, a neighbour of the van owner, is suspected for making the bomb by smuggling C4 explosives from the military installation,” the website said.
In another development, Foreign Minister Rohitha Bogollagama summoned U.S. Ambassador to Sri Lanka.
