The Sri Lankan government suspects that a local Islamist extremist group called National Thowheeth Jama’ath (NTJ) was behind the deadly suicide bomb attacks that killed nearly 300 people, government spokesperson Rajitha Senaratne said Monday.
Senaratne, who is also a cabinet minister, added that the government was investigating whether the group had “international support.”
Sri Lankan police found 87 bomb detonators at the main bus station in the capital, Colombo, the spokesperson added.
Sri Lankan authorities have ordered a state of emergency to be introduced from midnight Monday.
Documents seen by AFP show Sri Lanka’s police chief issued a warning on April 11, saying that a “foreign intelligence agency” had reported NTJ was planning attacks on churches and the Indian high commission.
Not much is known about the NTJ, a radical Muslim group that has been linked to the vandalizing of Buddhist statues.
A police source told AFP that all 24 people in custody in connection with the attacks belong to an “extremist” group, but did not specify further.
The death toll from attacks on churches and luxury hotels across Sri Lanka rose significantly to 290, and about 500 people were also wounded, police spokesman Ruwan Gunasekera said on Monday.
-
Sri Lanka government orders new curfew after attacks
The Sri Lankan government on Monday ordered a new night-time curfew as tensions remained high after a series of suicide bomb attacks that left at ... World News -
US warns ‘terrorists’ continue plotting Sri Lanka attacks
The US State Department said in a revised travel advisory ‘terrorist groups’ were continuing to plot possible attacks in Sri Lanka after ... World News -
Sri Lanka attacks death toll rises to 290, about 500 wounded
The death toll from attacks on churches and luxury hotels across Sri Lanka rose significantly to 290, and about 500 people were also wounded, police ... World News -
Sri Lanka blocks social media after deadly attacks
A group that monitors internet censorship says Sri Lankan authorities have blocked most social media services in the country following the Easter ... Digital