Madhu school bus bombing
Encyclopedia
The Madhu School bus bombing was the bombing of a school bus
School bus
A school bus is a type of bus designed and manufactured for student transport: carrying children and teenagers to and from school and school events...

 carried out on January 29, 2008 in Mannar
Mannar, Sri Lanka
Mannar , formerly spelled Manar, is the capital of Mannar District, Sri Lanka. It is located on Mannar Island.Mannar is known for its baobab trees and for its fort, built by the Portuguese in 1560 and taken by the Dutch in 1658 and rebuilt; its ramparts and bastions are intact, though the interior...

, Northern province
Northern Province, Sri Lanka
The Northern Province is one of the 9 provinces of Sri Lanka. The provinces have existed since the 19th century but did not have any legal status until 1987 when the 13th Amendment to the 1978 Constitution of Sri Lanka established provincial councils. Between 1988 and 2006 the province was...

 of Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka is a country off the southern coast of the Indian subcontinent. Known until 1972 as Ceylon , Sri Lanka is an island surrounded by the Indian Ocean, the Gulf of Mannar and the Palk Strait, and lies in the vicinity of India and the...

. The bombing killed 17, including eleven school children, and injured at least 14 more people.The LTTE accused the Sri Lankan Army
Sri Lankan Army
The Sri Lanka Army is the oldest and largest of the Sri Lanka Armed Forces and is responsible for land-based military and humanitarian operations. Established as the Ceylon Army in 1949, it was renamed when Sri Lanka became a republic in 1972...

 for the attack but the Army denied the allegations. This attack was the second attack on a civilian bus in the month of January in Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka is a country off the southern coast of the Indian subcontinent. Known until 1972 as Ceylon , Sri Lanka is an island surrounded by the Indian Ocean, the Gulf of Mannar and the Palk Strait, and lies in the vicinity of India and the...


Background

On January 2, the government of Sri Lanka officially pulled out of the cease fire signed in 2002. On January 16, 23 people were killed in a bus bombing at Okkampitya, a town in southern Sri Lanka. The Sri Lankan police blamed the LTTE for this attack.

Incident

On 29 January 2008 a bus carrying civilians was hit by a claymore mine that resulted in the death of 17 civilians including eleven school children and injuring 14 more people. This incident took place in the town of Mannar
Mannar, Sri Lanka
Mannar , formerly spelled Manar, is the capital of Mannar District, Sri Lanka. It is located on Mannar Island.Mannar is known for its baobab trees and for its fort, built by the Portuguese in 1560 and taken by the Dutch in 1658 and rebuilt; its ramparts and bastions are intact, though the interior...

 about 1 km from the Madhu Church. . According to the LTTE the civilian bus was hit by a claymore that was triggered by Sri Lankan Army
Sri Lankan Army
The Sri Lanka Army is the oldest and largest of the Sri Lanka Armed Forces and is responsible for land-based military and humanitarian operations. Established as the Ceylon Army in 1949, it was renamed when Sri Lanka became a republic in 1972...

’s deep penetration unit
Long Range Reconnaissance Patrol (Sri Lanka)
The Long Range Reconnaissance Patrol is a covert operation unit of the Sri Lanka Army. This unit is also known as the Deep Penetration Unit of the Sri Lanka Army and also as the Mahasohon Brigade...

. It further claimed that the victims were students and teachers returning from a sporting event. . The Sri Lankan Army denied any responsibility and claimed that there was no military unit operating in the area at that time. .

See also

  • List of attacks attributed to the Sri Lankan military
  • Sri Lankan Civil War
    Sri Lankan civil war
    The Sri Lankan Civil War was a conflict fought on the island of Sri Lanka. Beginning on July 23, 1983, there was an on-and-off insurgency against the government by the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam , a separatist militant organization which fought to create an independent Tamil state named Tamil...

  • Shrine of Our Lady of Madhu
    Shrine of Our Lady of Madhu
    The Shrine of Our Lady of Madhu is a Roman Catholic Marian shrine in Mannar district of Sri Lanka. With a history of over 400 years, this shrine acts as a center for pilgrimage and worship for Sri Lankan Catholics. The site is considered as the holiest Catholic shrine in the island and is a well...

  • Madhu church bombing
  • 2008 Sri Lanka bus bombings
    2008 Sri Lanka bus bombings
    The 2008 Sri Lanka bus bombings were a pair of attacks resulting in civilian deaths on January 16, 2008. The first was a roadside bomb attack on a civilian bus, with the gunmen gunning down fleeing survivors and then retreating into the bush, killing farmers who encountered them killing 28 and...

  • 2008 Fort Railway Station Bombing
    2008 Fort Railway Station Bombing
    The 2008 Fort Railway Station Bombing was a suicide bombing of a commuter train while it was stopped at the Fort Railway Station, Colombo, Sri Lanka on February 3, 2008. The bombing killed 12 and injured more than 100. Killed in the attack were eight school children of D. S...

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