COLOMBO - Police in the Sri Lankan capital Colombo have found an explosives-filled jacket usually worn by suicide bombers raising fears of an assassination bid ahead of next weekâs elections, a top official said on Tuesday. Police Deputy Inspector-General Pujith Jayasundara said an anonymous caller alerted police to the âcomplete suicide jacketâ abandoned along a lane in Colomboâs residential and commercial area of Kollupitiya.âThis is a complete suicide jacket that is usually worn by Tiger suicide bombers. We found it late last night after a telephone call received by the police emergency unit,â Jayasundara told AFP. âThe jacket was found within a few kilometres (miles) of the prime ministerâs residence and the homes of several other VIPs,â Jayasundara told AFP. âIt may have been meant for a suicide assassination attempt.â
Tamil Tiger rebels are known for their trade-mark suicide bombings but it was not immediately clear if the jacket was the work of the rebel Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE). Jayasundara said the police were investigating. He said they were also probing the surrender of a man who claimed to have been associated with the Tamil Tigers. It was not clear if the discovery of the suicide jacket and the surrender were linked.
Police and military officials have expressed fears that there could be an escalation of violence in the run up to the November 17 presidential election. Previous poll campaigns have been marred by violence. Government forces and Tamil Tiger rebels have been observing a truce since February 2002, but despite the ceasefire some 190 people have been killed in violence linked to the islandâs drawn-out ethnic conflict this year.