The skyline of the fort area, the twin towers are the World Trade centre building and the other tower is the Bank of Ceylon

The Central Bank bombing was one of the deadliest terrorist attacks carried out by the LTTE during the Separatist civil war in Sri Lanka between the government and the Tamil Tigers. The Sri Lankan Civil War is an Ongoing conflict on the Island -nation of Sri Lanka. Sri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka ( Sinhalese:, இலங்கை known as Ceylon before 1972 is an Island Traditionally the recorded History of Sri Lanka boasts of 25 chronicled centuries Origins of the Sri lankan civil war is highlighted by the continuous political rancor between the majority Sinhalese and the minority Tamils Black July is the commonly used name for the Pogroms starting in Sri Lanka on July 23 1983. Following is a List of riots and pogroms in Sri Lanka 1915 riots The first reported organized riots in Sri Lanka were against the minority Sri Lankan Muslims Major human rights groups such as Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch, as well as the United States Department of State and the European Union, Various Non-governmental organizations and individuals have accused the Sri Lankan government of committing state terrorism Sri Lankan Tamil militant groups rose to prominence in the 1970s to fight the state of Sri Lanka to create an independent Tamil Eelam. "LTTE" redirects here For the Led Zeppelin bootleg see Listen to This Eddie. The following is a list of attacks attributed to the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE commonly known as the Tamil Tigers The expulsion of the Muslims from the Northern province was an act of Ethnic cleansing carried out by the Tamil militant Liberation Tigers of Tamil Percy Mahinda Rajapaksa (commonly known as Mahinda Rajapaksa, Sinhala මහින්ද රාජපක්ෂ; maˈhində ˈraːjəˌpakʂə born November Velupillai Prabhakaran (வேலுப்பிள்ளை பிரபாகரன் born November 26, 1954) also known informally as Thambi (தம்பி Colonel Karuna Amman is the Nom de guerre of Vinayagamoorthi Muralitharan (born 1966 the President of the TMVP ( TamilEela Makkal Viduthalai Pulikal Lieutenant Colonel (Ret Nandasena Gotabhaya Rajapaksa RWP, RSP, GR is the current Permanent Lt Gen Sarath Fonseka RWP, RSP, VSV, USP, rcds psc, SLSR is a Sri Lankan Army officer who has served throughout Operation Poomalai or Eagle Mission 4 was the codename assigned to a mission undertaken by the Indian Air Force to airdrop supplies over the besieged town of Sri Lankan Civil War See also Sri Lankan Civil War Sri Lanka, from the early part of the 1980s was facing an increasingly violent ethnic strife Indian Peace Keeping Force ( IPKF; Hindi: भारतीय शान्ति सेना was the Indian military contingent performing a Peacekeeping Rajiv Gandhi राजीव गांधी (raːdʒiːv gaːnd̪ʰiː born in Bombay, (20 August 1944 – 21 May 1991 the elder son of Indira and Feroze Research and Analysis Wing ( RAW or R&AW) is India 's external Intelligence agency. The Military of Sri Lanka consists of Three Branches which are the Army, Navy, Air Force which comes under the Ministry of Defence. Tamil Makkal Viduthalai Pulikal (TMVP ( தமிழ் மக்கள் விடுதலைப்புலிகள், Tamil Peoples Liberation Tigers) also The Eelam People's Democratic Party is a Political party and a Paramilitary organization in Sri Lanka. Since the onset of the Sri Lankan Civil War in 1983 militant and paramilitary groups have assassinated many Public figures on suspicion of being sympathizers or informants Military use of children in Sri Lanka has been an internationally recognized problem since the inception of the Sri Lankan civil war in 1983. "LTTE" redirects here For the Led Zeppelin bootleg see Listen to This Eddie. The Sri Lankan Civil War is an Ongoing conflict on the Island -nation of Sri Lanka. Sri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka ( Sinhalese:, இலங்கை known as Ceylon before 1972 is an Island "LTTE" redirects here For the Led Zeppelin bootleg see Listen to This Eddie. The attack took place on January 31, 1996, in the capital of Sri Lanka, Colombo. Events 1504 - France cedes Naples to Aragon. 1606 - Gunpowder Plot: Guy Fawkes Year 1996 ( MCMXCVI) was a Leap year starting on Monday (link will display full 1996 Gregorian calendar) Colombo ( Sinhala:, ˈkoləmbə Tamil: கொழும்பு is the largest city and commercial capital of Sri Lanka. A lorry (42-6452) containing about 440 pounds of high explosives crashed through the main gate of the Central Bank , a seaside high-rise which managed most of the financial business of the country. This article is about the semi-truck For the North American use of the word see Pickup truck. As gunmen traded fire with security guards, the suicide bomber in the lorry detonated the massive bomb, which tore through the bank and damaged eight other buildings nearby[1]. This article is about suicide attacks for political and/or military reasons The lorry was followed by a three wheeler, carrying two LTTE cadres armed with an automatic rifle and an RPG launcher. This article is about the semi-truck For the North American use of the word see Pickup truck. A three wheeler is a Vehicle with three Wheels either "human or people-powered vehicles" (HPV or PPV or Velomobiles or motorized vehicles A rifle is a Firearm designed to be fired from the shoulder with a barrel that has a helical groove or pattern of grooves ("rifling" cut into the barrel walls RPG or rocket-propelled grenade, is a loose term describing hand-held shoulder-launched Anti-tank weapons capable of firing an unguided

The blast killed at least 91 people and injured 1,400 others ^{[1] [2]}. At least 100 people lost their eyesight[2]. Among the wounded were two US citizens, six Japanese, and one Dutch national. ^[3] Most of these were bystanders or civilians manning small shops set up near the bank. While the bomber Raju died immediately, the back up team Subramanium Vigneswaram alias Kittu, and Sivasamy Dharmendra alias Raju, were apprehended by law enforcement with information provided by the public. ^[4] Police and the security forces launched a massive manhunt for others who were involved in this terrorist incident. Terrorism is the systematic use of terror especially as a means of coercion It was eventually determined the bombers had come from Jaffna, in the north of the country and were LTTE members [3]. Jaffna or Yazhpanam (யாழ்ப்பாணம் in Tamil meaning யாழ்=

This bombing, and one in July on a train that killed more than 70, caused tourism to plummet 40% in Sri Lanka. Until 2006, the Central Bank bombing was the deadliest LTTE bombing of the civil war.

Suicide Bombers

Attack was mainly carried out by three LTTE cadres. "LTTE" redirects here For the Led Zeppelin bootleg see Listen to This Eddie. While one of them died immediately the rest were taken into custody by the Police. Suicide bombers were ;

• Raju(main bomber)
• Subramanium Vigneswaram alias kittu
• Sivasamy Dharmendra alias Raju

Immediately after the bombing several tourists and local and foreign travel agencies received calls from Ellalan Force, a front organization of LTTE, to boycott Sri Lanka. ^[4][5]

Criminal Indictment

Eleven LTTE members were charge with the bombing of the Central Bank, ten of them were indicted on a total of 712 counts, including intention to cause death and committing murder, destruction of state property by attacking the central bank, and provoking violence^[6]

In 2002 Judge Sarath Ambepitiya issued an open warrant to arrest LTTE's exclusive leader, Velupillai Prabhakaran in connection with the 1996 Central Bank Bombing. Velupillai Prabhakaran (வேலுப்பிள்ளை பிரபாகரன் born November 26, 1954) also known informally as Thambi (தம்பி [4] The judge found him guilty on 51 counts and sentenced him to 200 years in prison [5]^[6]

Related incidents

• Dehiwala train bombing
• 2007 Sri Lankan bus bombs
• 2006 Digampathana truck bombing

References

External links

• Fifty die in Sri Lanka suicide bombing

Coordinates: 6°55′57″N 79°50′38″E / 6.9325, 79.84389 (Central Bank)