Police have arrested two suspects over the fatal Dehiwala grenade attack, which investigators say may have been carried out after the attackers mistakenly targeted the wrong house.

The attack on a house along Sirisangabo Mawatha, Dehiwala, in the early hours of September 11 killed two children, aged 11 and 17, while their father suffered serious injuries.

The suspected grenade attacker has reportedly told police that the intended house and the house that was attacked were separated by the same wall, causing the attackers to mistake the two houses.

The two suspects, identified as the alleged attacker and the suspected driver of the three-wheeler used in the operation, are currently being questioned by the Western Province South Crime Division.

Police said the investigation also revealed that the attackers had planned to abduct and kill the intended target before setting fire to the vehicle used in the operation.

The suspected attacker, identified as Madushka Renuka Fernando alias “Madu,” is also allegedly linked to a previous murder in Ratmalana.

The suspect reportedly told police that he carried out the attack on the instructions of two individuals known as “Kos Malli” and “Bodhiyawatte Avishka”.

Police further said Madu is suspected of having acted as the gunman in the August 1 killing of a man identified as Jathunga Priyantha in Ratmalana.

The two suspects are due to be produced for an identification parade, police said.