Deputy Chief of Staff of the Sri Lanka Army Major General Parami Kulatunga and three others were killed in an LTTE suicide bomb attack at Pannipitiya yesterday (26). He was on his way to Army Headquarters at around 8.00 a.m.

Major General Kulatunga is the highest ranking Army Officer to be killed in an LTTE suicide attack after the aborted attempt by an LTTE woman suicide bomber on Army Commander Sarath Fonseka’s life at Army Headquarters two months ago.

Two soldiers and a civilian too were killed when a motor cyclist rammed an explosives laden bike into the vehicle of Maj. Gen. Kulatunga at Pannipitiya.

Eight others injured in the attack were admitted to the Kalubowila and the National Hospital Colombo. Among them were several soldiers in Maj. Gen. Kulaatunga’s escort and civilians, hospital sources said.

Kulatunga’s vehicle caught fire and exploded on impact, according to eye witnesses.

Parami Kulatunga had been under threat from the LTTE over a long period of time. His official vehicle and two security escort vehicles were approaching the High Level Road at the time of the attack. Maj. Gen. Kulatunga had been advised by Army intelligence to be extremely cautious in his movements as he was a very close associate of the Army Commander and an officer who had performed a number of special duties including overseeing some of the duties of the Army Commander, who is recuperating from the suicide bomb attack, sources said.

Intelligence Divisions of the Army and Police had warned that there were a number of LTTE suicide cadres in and around Colombo with orders to kill senior government and Armed Forces officers.