Security personnel stands guard outside the St. Anthony’s church in Colombo, one of the two Catholic churches devastated in bomb blasts on Easter Sunday.Sri Lanka Express photo by Arun JanardhanThe ongoing hunt for terrorist suspects in Sri Lanka has cast a shadow over the country still reeling from the devastation of the Easter Sunday bombings. As the country enters its first weekend of religious services following Sunday’s mass bombings, Catholic churches in Sri Lanka on Friday cancelled all Sunday Masses until further notice over concerns that they remain a top target of Islamic State-linked extremists.
Muslims in Sri Lanka were urged to pray at home and not attend mosques or churches after the State Intelligence Services warned of possible car bomb attacks, amid fears of retaliatory violence.
Ranil Wickremesinghe, in a tweet, apologised the citizens for the failure to protect them.
We take collective responsibility and apologise to our fellow citizens for our failure to protect victims of these tragic events. We pledge to rebuild our churches, revive our economy, and take all measures to prevent terrorism, with the support of the international community.
— Ranil Wickremesinghe (@RW_UNP) April 26, 2019
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A look at today’s development into the investigation
Discrepancies in Sri Lanka attack muddle investigation
The Sri Lankan police issued a correction after incorrectly identifying a US-based activist as a suspect in the Easter Sunday blasts in the country that killed over 250 people. However, after facing severe backlash, the police deleted their Twitter account later in the day.
The police had released photos of six suspects, including three women, wanted for their involvement in the attacks and sought information regarding them from the public. One of the pictures was of Amara Majeed, from Maryland, which was shared and identified as Abdul Cater Fathima Khadhiya, a suspected terrorist.
Sri Lanka police wrongly identified US-based activist Amara Majeed (in pic) as a terror suspect.The death toll also drastically dropped 359 to 253. According to officials, some bodies had been torn to pieces, and others had been destroyed, making identification difficult.
Sri Lankan police hunt 140 people believed linked to Islamic State
According to President Maithripala Sirisena, the police is trying to track down 140 people believed linked to Islamic State, which has claimed responsibility for the Easter Sunday suicide bombings of churches and hotels that killed 253 people.
Police have detained at least 76 people, including foreigners from Syria and Egypt, in their investigations so far.
Islamic State claimed responsibility for the Sri Lanka attacks on Tuesday and named what it said were seven attackers who carried them out.Islamic State provided no evidence to back its claim that it was behind the attacks. If true, it would be one of the worst attacks carried out by the group outside Iraq and Syria.
Defence, Police chief quit
Sri Lanka’s ousted defence secretary Hemasiri Fernando claimed that he had to quit to “protect” his political bosses while asserting that he followed the standard procedures while dealing with advance intelligence inputs on the deadly Easter Sunday terror attacks.
Amidst public outcry over the massive intelligence failure to avert the suicide attacks, President Maithripala Sirisena on Wednesday sought the resignation of Fernando as well as the Inspector General of Police Pujith Jayasundara.
President Sirisena had asked both Fernando and Jayasundara to quit after their failure to prevent the blasts despite having prior intelligence.
Dubai’s Burj Khalifa lights up with country’s flag
Tributes have poured in from across the world after the serial blasts in the island country. Dubai’s iconic skyscraper Burj Khalifa lit up to the colours of Sri Lanka’s flag to show solidarity with the victims of the suicide bombings on Easter Sunday.
