17 Tamils arrested in Nugegoda

Seventeen Tamil civilians, majority of them workers at business establishments and staying in lodges, were taken into custody in a cordon and search operation conducted by the Sri Lanka government security forces at Nugegoda, a suburb in Colombo, from Sunday evening till early morning Monday, sources said.

Nearly three hundred houses were searched, and more than eight thousand persons were interrogated during the search operation.

Work places, shops and lodges were also searched. The operation was carried out following the discovery of explosives from a telephone booth located in Nugegoda, police sources said.

Meanwhile, the police arrested three persons who are residents of Batticaloa and Kaathankudy in eastern province in connection with the bomb blast that took place at Dehiwela zoo on Sunday morning.

The suspects are being detained in the Dehiwala police station and being interrogated by the Terrorist Intelligence Division (TID), sources said.

Source: Tamilstar