Seven suicide bombers believed to be members of an extremist group carried out a series of devastating blasts that tore through churches and luxury hotels in Sri Lanka on Easter Sunday, killing 290 people and wounding 500 others in the country’s worst terror attack, authorities said on Monday.
A state of emergency was declared from midnight Monday aftera crucial meeting of the National Security Council chaired by PresidentMaithripalaSirisena.
No group has claimed responsibility for Sunday’s attacks,but police have so far arrested 24 people – mostly members of a same group – inconnection with the blasts that also killed six Indian nationals.
Police said that 9 out of the 24 arrested for involvement inthe blasts were ordered to be remanded by the Colombo magistrate’s court tillMay 6.
Government’s spokesman RajithaSenaratne said local extremistgroup called the National TawheedJamath (NTJ) is suspected of plotting theblasts that struck three churches when the Easter Sunday mass were in progressand three five-star hotels.
“All suicide bombers involved in the blasts arebelieved to be Sri Lankan nationals,” said Senaratne, who is also theHealth Minister.
Speaking at a press conference here, Senaratne said thegovernment was investigating whether the group had “international support”.
“There may be international links to them,” headded.
The Government Analyst’s Department was quoted as saying bythe Sunday Times that the blasts at the Shangri-La, Kingsbury and CinnamonGrand hotels, and also at St Anthony’s Church in Kotahena, St. Sebastian’sChurch in Katuwapitiya and the Zeon Church in Batticaloa have been identifiedas suicide bombings.
“A total of seven suicide bombers had carried out theseexplosions,” the department said.
Around 290 people, including six Indians, were killed in theblasts that left more than 500 others injured, police spokesman RuwanGunasekerasaid.
He said that 24 arrested suspects have been transferred intothe custody of the Criminal Investigations Department (CID) for furtherinvestigations.
The National Security Council (NSC) has announced plans toimpose a “conditional state of emergency” from midnight, said astatement from the president’s media unit.
It said the measures would target terrorism and would notlimit freedom of expression. These will be limited to counter terrorismregulations. This is being done to allow the police and the three forces toensure public security,” the statement said.
The government has also declared Tuesday as a national dayof mourning.
President Sirisena has appointed a three-member committee toconduct investigations. The committee will submit its report to the Presidentwithin two weeks.
Health Minister Senaratne said the Chief of NationalIntelligence had warned the Inspector General of Police (IGP) regarding theprobable attacks before April 11.
“On April 4, international intelligence agencies hadwarned of these attacks. The IGP was informed on April 9,” he said.
He demanded resignation of police chiefPujithJayasundera inview of the major security lapse.
Prime Minister RanilWickremesinghe said that aninvestigation must be launched as to why intelligence reports of the attackwere not taken seriously.
Rauff Hakeem, a government minister and the leader of themain Muslim party – Sri Lanka Muslim Congress, said that it was lamentable thatno preventive action had been taken despite the inputs.
“They have known this…, the names have been given,identified, but (they) took no action,” he added.
Two Sri Lankan Muslim groups – the All CeylonJamiyyathulUlama and the National Shoora Council – have condemned the blastsand demanded that all culprits be brought to book.
Meanwhile, as many as 87 bomb detonators were found onMonday at the Central Colombo bus station in Pettah area. The police initiallyfound 12 bomb detonators scattered on the ground. A further search revealed 75more, a police statement said.
A safe house where the bombers had lived for nearly threemonths leading to the attacks was found in the south of Colombo suburb of Panadura.
Sri Lanka Air Force said it found an improvised explosivesdevice along a road leading to the departure terminal at the Colombointernational airport Sunday night and safely defused it.
“It was a crude six-foot pipe bomb that was found bythe roadside,” an air force spokesman said.
On Sunday, External Affairs Minister SushmaSwaraj identifiedthree Indians as Lakshmi, Narayan Chandrashekhar and Ramesh who died in theblasts.
The Indian High Commission Monday confirmed the deaths oftwo more individuals in the blasts – K G Hanumantharayappa and M Rangappa.
Kerala Chief Minister PinarayiVijayan Sunday identified aKeralite, P S Rasina (58), among those killed in the blasts.
Four of them died in the Colombo National Hospital while thebodies of two Indians who succumbed to their injuries from the blast at theShangri-La Hotel has been sent for autopsy, the National Hospital spokespersonsaid.
Sri Lanka Monday ordered a new night-time curfew followingthe multiple attacks.
The blasts shattered a decade of peace in the island nationsince the end of the brutal civil war with the LTTE.
The civil war ended with the defeat of the Tamil Tigers, whohad fought for 26 years for an independent homeland for the minority ethnicTamils. The war is thought to have killed between 70,000 and 80,000 people.
Meanwhile, the NSC has announced plans to impose a”conditional state of emergency” from midnight, said a statement fromthe president’s media unit. Emergency regulations would give police sweepingpowers to deal with situations of breaches of security.
The government also declared Tuesday as a national day ofmourning. According to the statement, Sirisena will seek internationalassistance to combat terrorism in the island nation.
The intelligence unit has pointed out support of international terror groups behind the local terrorists, suspected of plotting the deadly Easter blasts. “The international assistance would be sought to combat them,” the statement said.