COLOMBO: Investigations into the LTTE’s attempted assassination of the Pakistan high commissioner in Colombo have revealed that the incident may have been prevented if officers had responded to an anonymous call to 119, the police emergency number, the Sunday Times in Sri Lanka said.

The paper said a caller had reportedly informed the emergency number that a trishaw (auto rickshaw) had been roaming around the area a couple of hours before the blast and that the driver of the vehicle had disappeared from the scene after parking it on the side of the road.

The blast occurred when two powerful claymore mines attached side by side inside a three-wheeler exploded as the convoy of the Pakistan high commissioner passed it.

The Sunday Times also quoted the police chief, Chandra Fernando, as denying allegations that calls to the emergency number were not heeded.

Investigations have revealed that two LTTE intelligence operatives had masterminded the attack, the Sunday Times further said.