An Army convoy was attacked near the Textile city of Coimbatore, about 500 km West of Chennai, this evening by a group of angry political protestors, mistaking it for carrying arms and ammunitions to Sri Lanka to help the Rajapakshe regime in its military offensive against the Tamils there.
A top Police official at the spot - Nilambur on the outskirts of the city-told HT over phone that a group of MDMK and Periyar Dravidar Kazhagam (PDK), a breakaway faction of the 'Dravidar Kazhagam (DK)', suddenly stopped the Army truck carrying personnel who were returning from training and proceeding to the barracks at Madhukarai nearby.
The volatile activists, shouting slogans against the Indian Government, began pelting stones at the Army truck, smashing its windscreens.
One of the beddings in the truck was pulled out and set on fire by the miscreants, the official said, adding, five persons belonging to both these political groups have been arrested.