Samurai sword gang strike

Four killers armed with a Samurai sword, hammers and axes stabbed a teenager to death in what detectives believe is the latest gangland killing involving Sri Lankan Tamils.

Asan Ratnasargan was stabbed in the chest with the sword as he sat in a red Alfa Romeo coupe with two friends.

The four men attacked the car with hammers and axes before killing the 18-year-old. His two terrified friends drove off to escape the gang.

The murder took place as Mr Ratnasargan's car stopped at traffic lights in Wembley on Saturday afternoon.

A red saloon, which police think was following the victim's car, stopped behind at the junction of Ealing Road and Carlyon Road. The killers drove off after the attack.

Mr Ratnasargan, who was born in Sri Lanka, had been living with relatives in London for two years and worked in family shops. He was not known to have any link to crime and police are baffled why he was picked out by the gang.

Detective Inspector Andy Rowell, leading the investigation, said: "There seems to be no clear motive for this killing. We are not linking it to other murders among Tamils but we are liaising with detectives on other cases."

Scotland Yard is concerned about the rising tide of murders in London's Tamil community. Often extreme violence is used, with Samurai swords and axes apparently the weapons of choice.

In June, a gang struck twice in one hour after driving across London in a convoy.

The 12-strong gang are believed to have used the M25 or the North Circular to get around the capital and launch the attacks in Wembley and Ilford.

The murders particularly shocked detectives investigating the escalation of feuds between young Asian gangs.

Both murder victims were Tamils who survived the initial assaults but died days later in hospital from horrific injuries.

The first attack took place at 1am on 8 June when a 23-yearold man was attacked in a Wembley street by a group armed with bottles, swords and an axe.

Partheepan Balasinghan died four days later from the head, face and chest injuries he sustained outside the Palm Beach restaurant in Ealing Road.

An hour after the Wembley attack, 18-year-old Kishokumar Balachandiran was kidnapped from outside a bar in High Road, Ilford.

The student was found 10 hours later - shocked, semiconscious and with hypothermia - in a river in Wanstead. Police say he had been beaten for several hours - possibly tortured - and had suffered face, neck, shoulder and stomach injuries. He died a week later.

The violence between feuding Sri Lankan gangs has been building steadily over recent years.

Some of the disputes between gangs involve family or community disputes originating in Tamil villages.