COLOMBO, Oct. 25, Reuter: A bomb blasted an Indian diplomatic office in Sri Lanka on Sunday as Indian troops battling for control of Jaffna were reported deployed around crowded refugee centers infiltrated by Tamil Tiger guerrillas.
“The (Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam) militants are using a temple where 2,000 refugees are sheltering to launch attacks,” an Indian High Commission official said in an interview.
Indian soldiers fighting for the 16th day to crush the separatist fighters had also ringed a second sanctuary in the city, the Hindu Nallur Temple; Guerrillas were believed to be mingling with the 20,000 refugees inside, the official said.
“They are not letting the civilians leave”, he said.
At least 8,000 Indian troops seeking to enforce a Sri Lankan peace pact signed by New Delhi and Colombo are battling an estimated 2,000 Tiger fighters refusing to end an armed struggle for a homeland for their minority community.
India says it has lost more than 130 men and killed at least 600 guerrillas, The Tigers say India has lost hundreds of men while their casualties have been minimal Witnesses saw the Tigers laying dozens of landmines in Jaffna at the weekend light Tigers dodged from tree to tree and corner to corner, firing their rifles. They were so. Active the Indians must have thought there ‘were dozens of them”, one said. In the eastern city of Kandy, Indian High Commissioner (Ambassador) Jyotindra Nath inspected extensive damage caused by a bomb in the Commission’s office.
The blast at 2:45 am blew over a wall, shattered windows and destroyed the toilet where it had been planted.
Police reported the bomb had been thrown but said they had no firm word on the identity of the attackers.
State radio later said police suspected the attack had been launched by the People’s Liberation Front, a Sinhalese Marxist group that has vowed to overthrow the government.
Other government officials said the explosion could have been the work of the Tamil Tigers.
Article extracted from this publication >> October 30, 1987
