4TH LEAD

18 wounded as STF hand grenade explodes in Colombo exhibition

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 06 February 2007, 10:42 GMT]
A hand grenade exploded, wounding 18 persons including children, females and monks, at a military exhibition at the the Bandaranaike Memorial International Conference Hall (BMICH) in Colombo Tuesday around 3:45 p.m. when a Sri Lankan Special Task Force (STF) person was demonstrating to the public on how to throw the hand grenade. Two Special Task Force (STF) personnel, 2 Buddhist monks, 4 females and 2 children were among the wounded.

Two of the wounded, rushed to Colombo National Hospital, were in critical state.

Police sources in Colombo said that the explosion, which took place inside a STF exhibition stall, was accidental

The exhibition was organised by the Government of Sri Lanka to mark the 59th Independence Day from 04 Febrary till 07 February, but was later extended to last till 09 February.

The STF is a specially trained and equipped unit of commandos drawn from the Sri Lankan Police, initially developed and deployed for counter insurgency operations in the eastern province.

Located in Bauddhaloka Mawatha, in Colombo, the BMICH is the Sri Lanka's leading convention facility which provides a venue for international conventions, trade shows, exhibitions and seminars.