Truck bomb for Puttalam parade, say police

An explosives-packed lorry detected on Friday at Kotavehera in Nikaweratiya may have been intended for a suicide attack on a passing out parade which took place last morning at the Vijayabha army training school in Puttalam, Police said.

Around 338 soldiers passed out with around 6,000 people in attendance, many of them family members or friends of the recruits. At least 50-60 of these men are to be selected to join the special forces.

A suicide attack in close proximity to where the passing out took place would have caused heavy casualties as it is only 50 metres away from the main road, police said.

The lorry was laden with more than a 1000 kilograms of C-4 explosives packed in extra thin aluminium foil for it to have a bigger impact, Police said.

Meanwhile, in the wake of the detection, Police have decided to restrict the movement of heavy vehicles from the north and east to other the parts of the country.

Police have also set up more checkpoints on roads leading from the north to the south.