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Suicide Bombing was a popular tactic of theLiberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam of attacking enemies to maximize enemy casualties and minimize attacker's casualties.
According toJane's Information Group, between 1980 and 2000, the LTTE carried out 168 suicide attacks causing heavy damage to mainly military targets, but in some cases also to economic and civilian targets.[1][failed verification]
The first prominent suicide bombing by the LTTE occurred in 1987 whenCaptain Miller drove a truck laden with explosives into a Sri Lankan army camp killing 40 soldiers.[2][3] He is heralded by the LTTE as the firstBlack Tiger.
The Sri Lankan economy and theSri Lankan Army have been targeted on numerous occasions, including during a high-profile attack on Colombo's International Airport (Bandaranaike Airport attack) in 2001 that caused damage to several commercial airliners and military jets .
On 31 January 1996, the LTTE's Black Tigers carried out theColombo Central Bank bombing that killed 100 people and injured 1400 others.[4]
The LTTE was also responsible for the1998 attack on a Buddhist shrine, andUNESCO World Heritage Site,Sri Dalada Maligawa inKandy that killed 17 people (including the 3 perpetrators). The attack was symbolic in that the shrine, which houses a sacred tooth of theBuddha, is the holiest Buddhist shrine in Sri Lanka.[5]
The LTTE's Black Tigers have carried out the assassination ofRajiv Gandhi, who was killed in 1991 using a prototype suicide vest, andRanasinghe Premadasa, assassinated in 1993.[6]
On Easter Sunday (21 April) 2019, approximately 250 people died insix separate suicide bombings in churches and hotels. The local groupNational Thowheeth Jama'ath, was suspected.[7]
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| Attack | Date | Location | Death toll | Sources |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sinking of SLNS Sagarawardena | 20 September 1994 | Off the coast ofMannar, North Western Province | 25 | |
| 1997 Colombo World Trade Centre bombing | 15 October 1997 | Colombo, Western Province | 15 | |
| 1998 Temple of the Tooth attack | 25 January 1998 | Kandy, Central Province | 17 | |
| Assassination of Neelan Tiruchelvam | 29 July 1999 | Colombo, Western Province | 3 | |
| Central Bank bombing | 31 January 1996 | Colombo, Western Province | 91 | |
| 2006 Digampathana bombing | 16 October 2006 | Digampathaha, Dambulla North Central Province (Army Personal) | 92–103 | |
| 2008 Weliveriya bombing | 6 April 2008 | Weliveriya, Western Province | 15 | |
| 2008 Fort Railway Station bombing | 3 February 2008 | Colombo Fort, Western Province | 12 | |
| Suicide Air Raid on Colombo | 20 February 2009 | Colombo, Western Province | 2 | |
| Akuressa suicide bombing | 10 March 2009 | Akuressa, Southern Province | 14 | |
| 2019 Sri Lanka Easter bombings | 21 April 2019 | Negombo,Batticaloa, andColombo (including Kochchikade,Dehiwala, andDematagoda suburbs) | 253 |
