The attack happened on January 31, 1996, in Colombo, the capital city of Sri Lanka. A truck with about 440 pounds (200 kg) of high explosives crashed through the main gate of the Central Bank, a seaside building which managed most of the financial business of the country. As gunmen and security guards were shooting, the suicide bomber in the truck detonated the massive bomb, which badly damaged the bank and damaged eight other buildings nearby.