The Islamic State (IS) group may be linked to bomb blasts which killed 321 people and wounded 500 in Sri Lanka, the country’s prime minister has said.
Ranil Wickremesinghe said the government believed Sunday’s attacks could not have been carried out without links to terror groups abroad.
The first mass funeral was held on Tuesday as Sri Lanka marked an official day of mourning for the victims.
A state of emergency remains in effect to prevent further attacks.
Police have now detained 40 suspects in connection with the attack, all of whom were Sri Lankan nationals.
“This could not have been done just locally,” Mr Wickremesinghe said. “There had been training given and a coordination which we are not seeing earlier.”
The Islamic State (IS) group claimed the attack on Tuesday via its Amaq news outlet. Sri Lanka’s government had previously blamed the blasts on local Islamist group National Thowheed Jamath (NTJ).
Eight blasts were reported, including at three churches during Easter services.
Three hotels in the capital, Colombo – the Shangri-La, Kingsbury and Cinnamon Grand – were also targeted.
An attack on a fourth hotel on Sunday was foiled, Mr Wickremesinghe said. He did not name the hotel. He also warned that further militants and explosives could still be “out there” following the attack.
The post Sri Lanka attacks: IS ‘may be linked’ appeared first on Click Ittefaq.
from International – Click Ittefaq http://bit.ly/2IELCMg
No comments:
Post a Comment