COLOMBO, Jan 25: Eleven people were killed and 22 injured when a Tamil Tiger suicide squad blasted an explosives-packed vehicle in Kandy early on Sunday morning opposite Sri Lanka's holiest Buddhist shrine and near the site of the February 4 golden jubilee celebrations.The truck bomb exploded at 6.10 am after the three Tiger militants in it crashed the vehicle into the gate to the entrance of the temple, firing at a police check post as they hurtled past. The three were among those killed in the explosion.In spite of appeals for calm by the mayor of Kandy and other community leaders, unruly crowds stoned Tamil shops and houses and set some vehicles ablaze in the town after the explosion in front of the Dalida Maligawa, or the temple of the Tooth Relic said to house a bicuspid of Buddha.Riot police later brought the situation under control, using tear gas to prevent a potential riot as people thronged the site of the explosion shouting slogans and a mob set fire to a Tamil cultural centre in another part of the town.A wedding was in progress in the building at the time but the fire was brought under control and no casualties were reported. A Hindu temple near the Dalida was also attacked.Most of those killed or injured in the explosion were early morning worshippers at the Dalida. The bomb damaged the entrance to the Dalida and the tiled roofs of some of the buildings in the temple precincts, but the main shrine is intact, according to an official report. Paintings on the ceilings and walls, and scriptures stored inside the temple dating back to the medieval period also suffered some damage.As President Chandrika Kumaratunga flew to the temple town to inspect the damage to Sri Lanka's most important Buddhist centre, the government spokesman accused the LTTE of attempting to sabotage the 50th anniversary celebrations and asserted that the function would go ahead as planned. ``The government wishes to state that the celebrations of the 50th anniversary of independence will be held in Kandy as scheduled on February 4,'' a communique from the spokesman declared.Window panes of the shops and homes in the vicinity of the temple were shattered in the explosion and portions of the ceiling fell at the Assistant High Commission of India, 2 km away. It was heard more than three km away, and left a crater six feet deep at the site of the blast. Investigators found the bodies of the three LTTE members along with three suicide jackets, a disposable RPG, two radio sets and some rounds of ammunition from the scene. Despite official assertions, the attack has cast a shadow over the golden jubilee celebrations of Sri Lanka's independence and placed a question mark over the participation of Prince Charles in the event. Fifteen other foreign dignitaries are also scheduled to participate. A spokesman for the British High Commission here said it was far too early to say whether this latest incident would affect Charles' participation in the event. ``But it will obviously be taken into account,'' he said. Sri Lanka had mounted the biggest security operation in its history for the celebrations, deploying over 10,000 soldiers and policemen in the temple town ahead of the celebrations but going by Sunday's attack, there was apparently a serious gap in the deployment.Speaking to journalists last week, Defence Minister General Anuruddha Ratwatte said the security operation was bigger than that for the 1976 Non-Aligned summit. Meanwhile, Opposition leader Ranil Wickremesinghe in a statement demanded Ratwatte's resignation in the wake of what he described as `today's unspeakable tragedy''. This is the second time that the LTTE has attacked a Buddhist temple. In 1986, Tamil Tigers gunned down 146 pilgrims at a site sacred to Buddhists in Anuradhapura in central Sri Lanka.
