Striking for the second time in as many days, a Tamil Tiger suicide bomber on Tuesday drove an explosive-laden tractor-trailer into an army camp in eastern Sri Lanka, killing eight persons, including four soldiers, and wounding at least 10 others.
Troops guarding the Chenkaladi army camp in Batticaloa district, a hotbed of violence between the military and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam, spotted the bomber and fired at him as he approached the camp.
The trailer exploded outside the gate, killing the bomber.
Four soldiers and three civilians were also killed in the attack that took place early Tuesday morning, a day after the Tamil Tigers carried out their first ever aerial attack on an airbase in Colombo, killing three airmen and injuring 16.
The office of the LTTE rival Eelam People's Democratic Party, located next to the army camp, was destroyed and the three civilians killed were in the building at the time of the attack, police said.
There were more than 100 soldiers inside the camp.
The government appointed a five-member committee to look into the lapses in security during the attack, DG, National Security, Luxman Hullagalle said.
"Our alert soldiers had detected the tractor and the driver, and had asked the driver to stop. When he ignored, they opened fire," military spokesperson Brig Prasad Samrasinghe said.
Meanwhile, President Mahinda Rajapakse said the emergence of the LTTE as the world's first rebel outfit with its own planes could be a threat to South Asian security.
"The LTTE using combat aircraft is not only a problem for us. It is a threat to other nations too," Rajapakse was quoted as saying by his office.
He also ordered an investigation into the major security lapses that made Monday's attack possible.
Two separate teams are probing the strike -- an embarrassing blow to the country's defence establishment.
"Ours is not the only country facing a terrorist threat. At a time when India, Indonesia and several other countries face this problem, it is significant that the LTTE has acquired air capability," Rajapakse said.
"The air power of a frenzied and desperate organisation as the LTTE is a grave threat aimed not only to Sri Lanka but also to the entire South Asian region," he said.
The president's office said political parties in Sri Lanka urged the international community to "make a proper assessment of this very real danger."
The Tigers had tried to stage a similar suicide bombing against Chenkaladi last week but failed when the explosives went off prematurely.
Chenkaladi was attacked last week together with three other military camps in Batticaloa district, leaving four soldiers dead and 30 wounded, according to the military.
There was no immediate word from the Tigers about the latest attack.
The defence ministry said three rebels were shot dead in the country's north while the Tigers killed a government soldier in a separate clash in Batticaloa.
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