No suicide bomber amongst surrendered LTTE cadres: Army

The Sri Lankan army did not find any suicide bombers as they screened over 9000 LTTE combatants who had surrendered in the just-ended conflict with the Tamil Tigers, fueling anxiety about their whereabouts.

"We could not find any LTTE suicide bombers among the 9100 LTTE cadres who confessed to their involvement in the offensive," a top army commander said here, expressing relief that the relief camps would not be targetted.

Sri Lankan Army chief Sarath Fonseka has said his forces are now on the lookout for the large number of LTTE suicide bombers still to be accounted for.

Fonseka said the Lankan authorities feared that the LTTE has smuggled suicide bombers into Colombo and other Sinhala dominated cities before it was dealt a crushing blow and they might carry out revenge attacks.

At the sprawling camp, which is housing an estimated over 200,000 Tamil refugees, the Lankan authorities have segregated the surrendered LTTE cadres putting them in a separate rehabilitation centre.

But the first task for the security forces is to ensure that none of the black Tigers infiltrate into the camps to cause any blast which could take a heavy toll of civilians.

A female suicide bomber had exploded herself in the refugee camp in Wanni while being screened when crossing over of the displaced persons intensified earlier during the year.

The Sri Lankan government has, however, made it clear that the criminal elements amongst the LTTE cadres who have surrendered would be dealt with according to the prevailing criminal laws in the Island nations.

The rest will be rehabilitated, the commander said here.

The special rehabilitation camp also houses 100 LTTE child soldiers, the commander said adding efforts are being made to facilitate them to return to a normal life.