Since the end of the civil war, the Sri Lankan state have been subject to much global criticism for violating human rights as a result of committing war crimes through bombing civilian targets, usage of heavy weaponry, the abduction and massacres of Sri Lankan Tamils and sexual violence. The LTTE gained notoriety for carrying out numerous attacks against civilians of all ethnicities, particularly those of Sinhalese and Sri Lankan Muslim ethnicity, assassinations of politicians, and the use of suicide bombings primarily against military targets. British mercenaries who worked for the private military contractor Keenie Meenie Services, which trained the Special Task Force of the Sri Lanka Police, were investigated by the Metropolitan Police for war crimes.