War veteran survives the suicide attack: The Army Commandos foil
LTTE's cowardly attempt on the Secretary Defence
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President rejoices his younger brothers'
survival in the brutal Terrorist attack Colombo today |
Secretary to the Ministry of Defence Public Security,
Law and Order Gotabaya Rajapakse survived a cowardly suicide bomb attack
carried out by the LTTE terrorists this morning.
An explosive laden three-wheeler rammed on the
motorcade carrying the Defence Secretary around 10:35 a.m. at
Kollupitiya in Colombo causing a massive explosion. Sri Lanka Army
Commandos, who were escorting the motorcade, obstructed the dashing
three-wheeler and successfully reduced the effect of the explosion. Two
Army Commandos died and 10 others suffered injuries in the explosion. At
least seven civilians suffered injuries and few vehicles were destroyed.
The security forces personnel immediately evacuated the injured to the
hospitals.
The military experts told defence.lk website that the
failure of the LTTE terrorists in the attack was mainly due to the true
professionalism shown by the Army Commandos. The Commandos regrouped
within seconds after the terrifying explosion and evacuated the
Secretary of Defence as well as the injured to safety with in minutes.
The situation has been brought back to normal in the Island capital.
The Secretary Defence met His Excellency the President
Mahinda Rajapakse at the Temple Trees following the attack.
Mr. Gotabaya Rajapakse who is a retired Army infantry
officer took over the office of the Secretary Defence November last
year. He joined the Army as a Cadet Officer on 26th of April 1971 and
promoted as a Second Lieutenant on 25th May 1972. Second Lieutenant
Rajapakse who had taken over his command as a platoon officer in
renowned Gajaba Infantry regiment, moved up in the ranks to Lieutenant
Colonel during his 20 years of active service.
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The
commanders of "Operation Liberation" commonly known as "Vadamarachchi
Operation". From left to right: Lt Col. Vipul Boteju, Lt Col. Sarath Jayawardane, Col. Wijaya Wimalaratne, Brig. Denzil
Kobbekaduwa and Maj Gotabaya Rajapakse [1987, Jaffna] |
Lieutenant Colonel (Retired) Rajapakse commanded the
1st Gajaba Regiment as the Second in Command and later as the Commanding
Officer in the heated battlefronts in Jaffna during 1983 - 1990 period.
He led his men in the famous operation of Vadamarachchi in 1987. He also
commanded the 1st Gajaba Regiment in the Operation "Strike Hard" and
Operation "Thrivida Balaya" in 1990. He was the Commanding Officer of
the Kotelawala Defence Academy at the time of his retirement.
Gotabaya Rajapkse has become the most feared enemy of
the LTTE since his presence in the office has created a huge morale
boost in Sri Lankan Armed forces, during the past few months. The LTTE
had a free rein in attacking the security forces personnel during 2002 -
2005 periods and were quite successfully in the process of demoralizing
the soldiers. The percent Defence Secretary undertook bold counter
terrorist action and revivified the Security Forces. Many Military
analysts attribute the recent military success to the honour and the
pride regained by the soldiers as the true heroes of the nation.
There is a old military quotation saying " Luck
favours the Bold". Now, all peace loving Sri Lankans have come into the
understanding that only the bold could save the mother nation. May luck
be always with the true sons of Mother Lanka! |
