Suicide belts, claymore found inside kovil

COLOMBO: The Army recovered a 16 kg claymore mine, two improvised suicide belts and five hand grenades concealed inside the Thumpale, Kalapanawatte Pulliayar Kovil in Point Pedro on Saturday.

The items were recovered after a tip-off from a civilian. A claymore bi-pod, one global positioning devise and four detonators were also recovered.

According to security forces an increased trend in LTTE activities inside Kovils and Churches were imminent lately in the north and east areas.

In many occasions, they have sought the sanctuary of places of worship to conceal explosives, weapons and other military equipment making use of the high degree of respect the Armed Forces have towards these places, defence officials said.