A letter bomb addressed to President Chandrika Bandaranaike Kumaratunga and delivered to the Presidential Secretariat was detected and defused yesterday morning by an Army Bomb Disposal Squad, spokesman for the Presidential Secretariat revealed.

     According to the Daily News the bomb was detected at the Galle Face entrance to the Presidential Secretariat when the unusually heavy envelope aroused suspicion of the security officers. The letter, which looked as if it contained a slim diary, had come through the ordinary post. After the security officer had torn off a second envelope, which contained a wrist watch, he had put it through the X-ray machine. It was found to be a bomb contained in a wrist watch, the Daily News said.

     The letter had come through the Central Mail Exchange and was addressed in English, but there had been no postage stamp attached to the long envelope, the Daily Mirror said.

     The security officer who had received the letter had informed the personal security officer to the President and was able to defuse the bomb with the help of the Bomb Disposal. They had carried out a control explosion.

     CID sources revealed to the Daily Mirror that they would be questioning officers at the Central Mail Exchange and the postman.

     According to the Daily News a full-scale investigation is being conducted by the authorities into this second attempt on President's life during the last one month.

     The first attempt was made on the 18th of December 1999 at Town Hall, which was the final presidential election rally. An LTTE woman suicide bomber exploded herself killing 26 people and injuring 110 including the president. Police reports have revealed that three LTTE suicide bombers have infiltrated the Colombo city. Massive cordon and search operations were conducted in the city and suburbs during the past few days. Another woman suicide bomber exploded herself on January 05, 2000 in front of the Prime Minister's office killing 14 people.

Contact Information: Send mail to webmaster@priu.gov.lk with questions or comments about this web site. Last modified: September 25, 2003.