Type Military Headquarters Controlled by Sri Lanka Army | In use 1940s–present | |
Garrisons Ministry of Defence, Sri Lanka Engineers, Sri Lanka Army Women's Corps, Sri Lanka Rifle Corps | ||
Army Headquarters refers to the military headquarters complex of the Sri Lanka Army. Situated next to Galle Face Green and Lower Lake Road, this complex also includes the Ministry of Defence. Apart from operational and administrative offices, it contains the centers of several regiments and corps of the Sri Lanka Army. Until 2006 the Colombo Military Hospital was based here, however it was moved to a suburb of Colombo in 2007. It is also the location of the army sports grounds.
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History
The base was founded by the British during British colonial rule of Ceylon, with it being expanded during World War II. When the Ceylon army was formed in 1949 following the independence of Ceylon, the base was used as its headquarters.
Terrorist attacks
The Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) have carried out two suicide bombings at the army headquarters. The first was on November 24, 1995, when two female suicide bombers blew themselves up outside the headquarters killing 16 people, mostly civilians. The second terrorist attack occurred on April 25, 2006, when another female LTTE suicide bomber, disguised as a pregnant women coming for clinical treatment at the Colombo Military Hospital, blew herself up. She targeted Lieutenant General Sarath Fonseka's staff car. Although seriously wounded the general survived, eight others were killed and thirty more wounded. This prompted the moving of the military hospital to a suburb of Colombo.