Sri Lanka on edge after local Islamic militant group blamed for Easter Sunday attacks: report - Fox News

Sri Lanka took drastic steps Monday to crack down on new potential terror threats by blocking social media and arresting more than a dozen after a series of suicide bombings allegedly carried out by a domestic radical Islamic group ripped through its capital on Easter Sunday.

The country’s health minister said the attacks, which killed at least 290 and injured more than 500, were carried out by seven suicide bombers from a local militant group named National Thowfeek Jamaath. Experts cited by The New York Times said the group promotes an Islamic terrorist ideology. Police said 13 suspects in connection with the bombings have been arrested.

“These attacks appear to be quite different and look as if they came right out of the ISIS, Al Qaeda, global militant jihadist playbook, as these are attacks fomenting religious hatred by attacking multiple churches on a high religious holiday,” Anne Speckhard, the director of the International Center for the Study of Violent Extremism, told the Times.

US STATE DEPARTMENT WARNS 

All of the bombers were Sri Lankan citizens, but authorities suspect foreign links, Health Minister Rajitha Senaratne said at a news conference.

Six nearly simultaneous blasts took place in the morning at the shrine and the Cinnamon Grand, Shangri-La and Kingsbury hotels in Colombo, as well as at two churches outside Colombo. Two more blasts occurred a few hours later outside Colombo -- one at a guesthouse, the other near an overpass.

A government forensic crime investigator said an analysis of the attacker's body parts indicated they were suicide bombers. He said a single bomber carried out most of the attacks, with two at Colombo's Shangri-La Hotel.

EASTER MASSACRE AT CHURCHES, HOTELS IN SRI LANKA KILLED TV CHEF, MOTHER AND SON, AMERICANS

Officials on Monday said that Sri Lankan police investigating the bombings are examining reports that intelligence agencies had warnings of possible attacks. Health Minister Rajitha Senaratne said the international agencies warned of the attacks several times starting April 4.

Telecommunications Minister Harin Fernando tweeted, "Some intelligence officers were aware of this incidence. Therefore there was a delay in action. Serious action needs to be taken as to why this warning was ignored." He added that his father had heard of a possible attack and had warned him not to enter popular churches.

Sri Lankans gather outside St. Anthony's Shrine a day after series of blasts in Colombo, Sri Lanka, Monday, April 22, 2019.  (AP)

Meanwhile, Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe has vowed to "vest all necessary powers with the defense forces" to take action against those responsible.

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Authorities on Monday lifted a curfew that had been imposed but kept social media block so as to curtail the spread of false information and ease tension in the country of more than 22 million people.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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2019-04-22 09:59:26Z
52780273201173

Sri Lanka bombings death toll rises to 290 in 'brand-new type of terrorism' - CNN

Police have arrested 24 people in connection with the suicide bombs, which injured at least 500 people, in the worst violence the South Asian island has seen since its bloody civil war ended 10 years ago.

Authorities were facing accusations that they had failed to act on a warning received ten days before the atrocity that an Islamist group was preparing an attack.

There were fears of more devices: A ninth improvised explosive device (IED) was defused near the capital's Bandaranaike International Airport on Sunday evening, according to an Air Force spokesman.

Foreign nationals are among the dead, including five British citizens, two of whom held dual US-UK nationality, three Indians, two Australians, two Chinese cousins, one person from the Netherlands, two Turkish citizens and one Portuguese national. The blasts appears to have targeted tourism hotspots, as well as churches, in an effort to gain maximum global attention.

No group has claimed responsibility, but Sri Lankan Defense Minister Ruwan Wijewardene said the "terrorist incident" was carried out by followers of "religious extremism."

On Sunday evening, a leaked memo revealed that police were warned of a potential attack by an Islamist group known as the Nations Thawahid Jaman (NTJ), ten days before the Easter Sunday bombings. It is unclear whether the details contained in the warning matched the atrocity that eventually took place.

Sri Lanka's Prime Minister said the intelligence was not shared with him or other ministers. Sajith Premadasa, minister of housing construction and cultural affairs, said officers were guilty of "negligence and incompetence."

There were doubts that the NTJ, a little-known group which has previously defaced Buddhist statues, would have had the capacity to carry out such a sophisticated and coordinated attack alone. Transnational Islamists are known to operate in places like Pakistan, Malaysia and the Philippines.

But Dhruva Jaishankar, a fellow in Foreign Policy Studies at Brookings India, said that little is known about Islamic radicalism in Sri Lanka and that it was "premature" to speculate on which organizations might have been involved.

A social media blackout was enforced in the aftermath of the attacks as authorities attempted to contain the violence and establish who carried out the attacks.

How it unfolded

The first wave of attacks struck during packed Easter Sunday services. More than 1,000 people had gathered at St. Sebastian's Church in Negombo, north of the capital Colombo, where 102 people were killed, according to Father Edmond Tillekeratne, social communications director for the Archdiocese of Colombo.

As the Easter services got underway at churches in the cities of Colombo, Negombo and Batticaloa, the bombers detonated their devices. The bombs blew out the tiled roofs of churches, killing worshipers. Images showed bloodied pews, broken glass and plumes of smoke.

"You can see pieces of flesh thrown all over the walls and on the sanctuary and even outside of the church," Tillekeratne said.

More blasts ripped through three luxury hotels in Colombo: The Shangri-La, Cinnamon Grand and Kingsbury, all popular with foreign tourists and the country's business community. At the Shangri-La, the bomb was detonated just after 9 a.m local time at the Table One cafe as holidaymakers and guests were eating breakfast.

Another blast rocked a hotel in front of the Dehiwala Zoo in Dehiwala-Mount Lavinia. The final blast struck a private house in Mahawila Gardens, in Dematagoda, during a raid in connection with the earlier attacks, officials said. Three police officers were killed.

Christianity is a minority religion in Sri Lanka, accounting for less than 10% of the total population of 21.4 million. According to census data, 70.2% of Sri Lankans identify as Buddhist, 12% Hindu, 9.7% Muslim, and 7.4% Christian. It is estimated that 82% of Sri Lankan Christians are Roman Catholic.

In recent years, Sri Lanka has boomed as a holiday destination, welcoming 2.2 million visitors in 2017 compared to just over one million in 2012, providing tourists with an affordable alternative to tropical destinations such as the Maldives.

On Monday morning, however, the city's beachfront hotel district, where several of the bombs struck, was heavily guarded by soldiers carrying AK47s and bomb-sniffing dogs were at closed hotel gates where guests were being checked in.

Rise of ISIS in Asia

Premadasa, the Sri Lankan minister, called Sunday's attacks a "brand-new type of terrorism" that had rocked the nation. "We have not had any separatist movements in the past 10 years and this came as a shock to all of us," he said.

The civil war between the separatist Tamil Tigers and the Sri Lankan government ended in 2009, after claiming between 70,000 and 80,000 lives. Handling that conflict, Premadasa said, had prepared the government to deal with terrorism.

"During the 30-year terrorist war there were indiscriminate attacks on all institutions, they (the Tamil Tigers) did not spare any in their path towards a separatist state, but we were victorious in defeating terrorism," he added.

The targets of the attacks -- churches and hotels catering to foreigners -- have figured in previous bombings in Asia and beyond in recent years. In January 2019, ISIS claimed responsibility for an attack that killed at least 20 in a church in the Philippines. The attack also took place on a Sunday, when worshipers were gathered for mass.

In May 2018, ISIS claimed responsibility attacks at three churches in Indonesia, which killed at least 12 people and injured dozens more. On Palm Sunday in 2017, ISIS killed at least 49 people gathered for Mass at two churches in Egypt.

After the collapse of the ISIS caliphate in Iraq and Syria, as many as 5,600 foreign fighters have returned to their home countries since October 2017.

Jaishankar, the analyst, said Sri Lanka may have become complacent about terrorism since the end of the civil war. "This may end up being a wake-up call for that," he said.

CNN's Tara John and CNN National Security Analyst Peter Bergen also contributed to this report. Journalist Sandun Arosha F'do reported from Colombo, Sri Lanka.

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https://www.cnn.com/2019/04/22/asia/sri-lanka-investigation-easter-attacks/index.html

2019-04-22 09:18:00Z
52780273201173

Sri Lanka bombings death toll rises to 290 in 'brand-new type of terrorism' - CNN

Police have arrested 24 people in connection with the suicide bombs, which injured at least 500 people, in the worst violence the South Asian island has seen since its bloody civil war ended 10 years ago.

Authorities were facing accusations that they had failed to act on a warning received ten days before the atrocity that an Islamist group was preparing an attack.

There were fears of more devices: A ninth improvised explosive device (IED) was defused near the capital's Bandaranaike International Airport on Sunday evening, according to an Air Force spokesman.

Foreign nationals are among the dead, including five British citizens, two of whom held dual US-UK nationality, three Indians, two Australians, two Chinese cousins, one person from the Netherlands, two Turkish citizens and one Portuguese national. The blasts appears to have targeted tourism hotspots, as well as churches, in an effort to gain maximum global attention.

No group has claimed responsibility, but Sri Lankan Defense Minister Ruwan Wijewardene said the "terrorist incident" was carried out by followers of "religious extremism."

On Sunday evening, a leaked memo revealed that police were warned of a potential attack by an Islamist group known as the Nations Thawahid Jaman (NTJ), ten days before the Easter Sunday bombings. It is unclear whether the details contained in the warning matched the atrocity that eventually took place.

Sri Lanka's Prime Minister said the intelligence was not shared with him or other ministers. Sajith Premadasa, minister of housing construction and cultural affairs, said officers were guilty of "negligence and incompetence."

There were doubts that the NTJ, a little-known group which has previously defaced Buddhist statues, would have had the capacity to carry out such a sophisticated and coordinated attack alone. Transnational Islamists are known to operate in places like Pakistan, Malaysia and the Philippines.

But Dhruva Jaishankar, a fellow in Foreign Policy Studies at Brookings India, said that little is known about Islamic radicalism in Sri Lanka and that it was "premature" to speculate on which organizations might have been involved.

A social media blackout was enforced in the aftermath of the attacks as authorities attempted to contain the violence and establish who carried out the attacks.

How it unfolded

The first wave of attacks struck during packed Easter Sunday services. More than 1,000 people had gathered at St. Sebastian's Church in Negombo, north of the capital Colombo, where 102 people were killed, according to Father Edmond Tillekeratne, social communications director for the Archdiocese of Colombo.

As the Easter services got underway at churches in the cities of Colombo, Negombo and Batticaloa, the bombers detonated their devices. The bombs blew out the tiled roofs of churches, killing worshipers. Images showed bloodied pews, broken glass and plumes of smoke.

"You can see pieces of flesh thrown all over the walls and on the sanctuary and even outside of the church," Tillekeratne said.

More blasts ripped through three luxury hotels in Colombo: The Shangri-La, Cinnamon Grand and Kingsbury, all popular with foreign tourists and the country's business community. At the Shangri-La, the bomb was detonated just after 9 a.m local time at the Table One cafe as holidaymakers and guests were eating breakfast.

Another blast rocked a hotel in front of the Dehiwala Zoo in Dehiwala-Mount Lavinia. The final blast struck a private house in Mahawila Gardens, in Dematagoda, during a raid in connection with the earlier attacks, officials said. Three police officers were killed.

Christianity is a minority religion in Sri Lanka, accounting for less than 10% of the total population of 21.4 million. According to census data, 70.2% of Sri Lankans identify as Buddhist, 12% Hindu, 9.7% Muslim, and 7.4% Christian. It is estimated that 82% of Sri Lankan Christians are Roman Catholic.

In recent years, Sri Lanka has boomed as a holiday destination, welcoming 2.2 million visitors in 2017 compared to just over one million in 2012, providing tourists with an affordable alternative to tropical destinations such as the Maldives.

On Monday morning, however, the city's beachfront hotel district, where several of the bombs struck, was heavily guarded by soldiers carrying AK47s and bomb-sniffing dogs were at closed hotel gates where guests were being checked in.

Rise of ISIS in Asia

Premadasa, the Sri Lankan minister, called Sunday's attacks a "brand-new type of terrorism" that had rocked the nation. "We have not had any separatist movements in the past 10 years and this came as a shock to all of us," he said.

The civil war between the separatist Tamil Tigers and the Sri Lankan government ended in 2009, after claiming between 70,000 and 80,000 lives. Handling that conflict, Premadasa said, had prepared the government to deal with terrorism.

"During the 30-year terrorist war there were indiscriminate attacks on all institutions, they (the Tamil Tigers) did not spare any in their path towards a separatist state, but we were victorious in defeating terrorism," he added.

The targets of the attacks -- churches and hotels catering to foreigners -- have figured in previous bombings in Asia and beyond in recent years. In January 2019, ISIS claimed responsibility for an attack that killed at least 20 in a church in the Philippines. The attack also took place on a Sunday, when worshipers were gathered for mass.

In May 2018, ISIS claimed responsibility attacks at three churches in Indonesia, which killed at least 12 people and injured dozens more. On Palm Sunday in 2017, ISIS killed at least 49 people gathered for Mass at two churches in Egypt.

After the collapse of the ISIS caliphate in Iraq and Syria, as many as 5,600 foreign fighters have returned to their home countries since October 2017.

Jaishankar, the analyst, said Sri Lanka may have become complacent about terrorism since the end of the civil war. "This may end up being a wake-up call for that," he said.

CNN's Tara John and CNN National Security Analyst Peter Bergen also contributed to this report. Journalist Sandun Arosha F'do reported from Colombo, Sri Lanka.

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https://www.cnn.com/2019/04/22/asia/sri-lanka-investigation-easter-attacks/index.html

2019-04-22 09:16:00Z
52780273201173

Sri Lanka bombings death toll rises to 290 in 'brand-new type of terrorism' - CNN

Police have arrested 24 people in connection with the suicide bombs, the worst violence the South Asian island has seen since its bloody civil war ended 10 years ago.

A ninth improvised explosive device (IED) was defused near the capital's Bandaranaike International Airport on Sunday evening, according to an Air Force spokesman. The blasts appears to have targeted tourism hotspots, as well as churches, in an effort to gain maximum global attention.

Foreign nationals are among the dead, including five British citizens, two of whom held dual US-UK nationality, three Indians, two Australians, two Chinese cousins, one person from the Netherlands, two Turkish citizens and one Portuguese national.

No group has claimed responsibility for the attacks, but Sri Lankan Defense Minister Ruwan Wijewardene said the "terrorist incident" was carried out by followers of "religious extremism."

On Sunday evening, a leaked memo revealed that police were warned of a potential attack=by the Nations Thawahid Jaman (NTJ), an Islamist group, ten days before the Easter Sunday attacks. It is unclear whether the details contained in the warning matched the atrocity that eventually took place.

Sri Lanka's Prime Minister said the intelligence was not shared with him or other ministers. Sajith Premadasa, minister of housing construction and cultural affairs, said officers had acted with "negligence and incompetence."

Analysts cautioned against rushing to conclusions. Dhruva Jaishankar, a fellow in Foreign Policy Studies at Brookings India, said the NTJ, a little-known group which has previously defaced Buddhist statues, and was unlikely to have the capacity or sophistication to execute an attack like Sunday's without assistance.

While there is a known transnational Islamist presence in places such as Pakistan, Malaysia, and the Philippines, Jaishankar said little is known about Islamic radicalism in Sri Lanka and that it was "premature" to speculate on which organizations might have been involved.

Christianity is a minority religion in Sri Lanka, accounting for less than 10% of the total population of 21.4 million. According to census data, 70.2% of Sri Lankans identify as Buddhist, 12% Hindu, 9.7% Muslim, and 7.4% Christian.

It is estimated that 82% of Sri Lankan Christians are Roman Catholic.

A social media blackout has been enforced as the authorities try to contain the violence and establish who carried out the attacks, and what their motive might have been.

How it unfolded

The first wave of attacks struck during packed Easter Sunday services.

More than 1,000 people had come to the one of the explosion sites, St. Sebastian's Church, where 102 people were killed, according to Father Edmond Tillekeratne, social communications director for the Archdiocese of Colombo.

As the Easter services got underway at churches in the cities of Colombo, Negombo and Batticaloa, the bombers detonated their devices. The bombs blew out the tiled roofs of churches, killing worshipers. Images showed bloodied pews, broken glass and plumes of smoke.

"You can see pieces of flesh thrown all over the walls and on the sanctuary and even outside of the church," Tillekeratne said.

More blasts ripped through three luxury hotels in the capital city of Colombo: The Shangri-La, Cinnamon Grand and Kingsbury, all popular with foreign tourists and the country's business community. At the Shangri-La, the bomb was detonated just after 9 a.m local time at the Table One cafe as holidaymakers and guests were eating breakfast.

Another blast rocked a hotel in front of the Dehiwala Zoo in Dehiwala-Mount Lavinia. The final blast struck a private house in Mahawila Gardens, in Dematagoda, during a raid in connection with the attacks, officials said. Three police officers were killed.

In recent years, Sri Lanka has boomed as a holiday destination, welcoming 2.2 million visitors in 2017 compared to just over one million in 2012, providing tourists with an affordable alternative to tropical destinations such as the Maldives.

On Monday morning, however, the city's beachfront hotel district, where several of the bombs struck, was heavily guarded by soldiers carrying AK47s and bomb-sniffing dogs were at closed hotel gates where guests were being checked in.

Rise of ISIS in Asia

Premadasa, the Sri Lankan minister, called Sunday's attacks a "brand-new type of terrorism."

"We have not had any separatist movements in the past 10 years and this came as a shock to all of us," he said.

The civil war between the separatist Tamil Tigers and the Sri Lankan government ended in 2009, after claiming between 70,000 and 80,000 lives. Handling that conflict, Premadasa said, had prepared the government to deal with terrorism.

"During the 30-year terrorist war there were indiscriminate attacks on all institutions, they (the Tamil Tigers) did not spare any in their path towards a separatist state, but we were victorious in defeating terrorism," he added.

The targets of the attacks -- churches packed with the faithful on Easter Sunday and three five-star hotels catering to foreigners -- have figured in previous bombings in the Asia region and beyond in recent years.

In January 2019, ISIS claimed responsibility for an attack that killed at least 20 in a church in the Philippines. The attack also took place on a Sunday, when worshipers were gathered for mass.

In May 2018, ISIS claimed responsibility for carrying out attacks at three churches in Indonesia, killing at least 12 people and injuring dozens more. And, in 2017, on Palm Sunday, ISIS killed at least 49 people gathered for Mass at two churches in Egypt.

The collapse of the ISIS caliphate in Iraq and Syria has sent as many as 5,600 foreign fighters back to their home countries since October 2017.

Jaishankar said that Sri Lanka might have become complacent on terrorism since the end of its civil war. "This may end up being a wake up call for that," he added.

CNN's Tara John and CNN National Security Analyst Peter Bergen also contributed to this report. Journalist Sandun Arosha F'do reported from Colombo, Sri Lanka.

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https://www.cnn.com/2019/04/22/asia/sri-lanka-investigation-easter-attacks/index.html

2019-04-22 08:45:00Z
52780273201173

Sri Lanka bombings death toll rises to 290 in 'brand-new type of terrorism' - CNN

Police have arrested 24 people in connection with the suicide bombs, the worst violence the South Asian island has seen since its bloody civil war ended 10 years ago.

A ninth improvised explosive device (IED) was defused near the capital's Bandaranaike International Airport on Sunday evening, according to an Air Force spokesman. The blasts appears to have targeted tourism hotspots, as well as churches, in a bid to gain maximum global attention.

Foreign nationals are among the dead, including five British citizens, two of whom held dual US-UK nationality, three Indians, two Australians, two Chinese cousins, one person from the Netherlands, two Turkish citizens and one Portuguese person.

No group has claimed responsibility for the attacks, but Sri Lankan Defense Minister Ruwan Wijewardene said the "terrorist incident" was carried out by those following "religious extremism."

On Sunday evening it was revealed in a leaked memo that police had been warned of a potential attack by the Nations Thawahid Jaman (NTJ), an Islamist group led by Mohomad Saharan. It is unclear whether the information related to Sunday's bombings.

The Prime Minister of Sri Lanka has said the intelligence was not shared with him and other ministers. Sajith Premadasa, minister of housing construction and cultural affairs, said the officers had acted with "negligence and incompetence."

Analysts, however, have cautioned against rushing to conclusions. Dhruva Jaishankar, a fellow in Foreign Policy Studies at Brookings India, said the NTJ is a little-known group, which has previously defaced Buddhist statues, and was unlikely to have the capacity or sophistication to execute an attack like Sunday's without assistance.

While there is a known transnational Islamist presence in places such as Pakistan, Malaysia, and the Philippines, Jaishankar said little is known about Islamic radicalism in Sri Lanka and that it was "premature" to speculate on which organizations might have been involved.

Christianity is a minority religion in Sri Lanka, accounting for less than 10% of the total population of 21.4 million. According to census data, 70.2% of Sri Lankans identify as Buddhist, 12% Hindu, 9.7% Muslim, and 7.4% Christian.

It is estimated that 82% of Sri Lankan Christians are Roman Catholic.

A social media blackout has been enforced as the authorities try to contain the violence and establish who carried out the attacks and why.

How it unfolded

The first wave of attacks struck during packed Easter Sunday services.

More than 1,000 people had come to the one of the explosion sites, St. Sebastian's Church, where 102 people were killed, according to Father Edmond Tillekeratne, social communications director for the Archdiocese of Colombo.

As the Easter services got underway at churches in the cities of Colombo, Negombo and Batticaloa, the bombers detonated their devices. The bombs blew out the tiled roofs of churches, killing worshipers. Images showed bloodied pews, broken glass and plumes of smoke.

"You can see pieces of flesh thrown all over the walls and on the sanctuary and even outside of the church," Tillekeratne said.

More blasts ripped through three luxury hotels in the capital city of Colombo: The Shangri-La, Cinnamon Grand and Kingsbury, all popular with foreign tourists and the country's business community. At the Shangri-La, the bomb was detonated just after 9 a.m local time at the Table One cafe as holidaymakers and guests were eating breakfast.

Jaishankar, who has visited the three hotels targeted, said there was "very little security" at any of the venues.

Another blast rocked a hotel in front of the Dehiwala Zoo in Dehiwala-Mount Lavinia. The final blast struck a private house in Mahawila Gardens, in Dematagoda, during a raid in connection with the attacks, officials said. Three police officers were killed.

In recent years, Sri Lanka has boomed as a holiday destination, welcoming 2.2 million inbound visitors in 2017 compared to just over one million in 2012, providing tourists with an affordable alternative to tropical destinations such as the Maldives.

On Monday morning, however, the city's beachfront hotel district, where several of the bombs struck, was heavily guarded by soldiers carrying AK47s and bomb-sniffing dogs were at closed hotel gates where guests were being checked in.

Rise of ISIS in Asia

Premadasa, the Sri Lankan minister, called Sunday's attacks a "brand-new type of terrorism."

"We have not had any separatist movements in the past 10 years and this came as a shock to all of us," he said.

The civil war between the separatist Tamil Tigers and the Sri Lankan government ended in 2009, after claiming between 70,000 and 80,000 lives. Handling that conflict, Premadasa said, had prepared the government to deal with terrorism.

"During the 30-year terrorist war there were indiscriminate attacks on all institutions, they (the Tamil Tigers) did not spare any in their path towards a separatist state, but we were victorious in defeating terrorism," he added.

The targets of the attacks -- churches packed with the faithful on Easter Sunday and three five-star hotels catering to foreigners -- have figured in previous bombings in the Asia region and beyond in recent years.

In January 2019, ISIS claimed responsibility for an attack that killed at least 20 in a church in the Philippines. The attack also took place on a Sunday, when worshipers were gathered for mass.

In May 2018, ISIS claimed responsibility for carrying out attacks at three churches in Indonesia, killing at least 12 people and injuring dozens more. And, in 2017, on Palm Sunday, ISIS killed at least 49 people gathered for Mass at two churches in Egypt.

The collapse of the ISIS caliphate in Iraq and Syria has sent as many as 5,600 foreign fighters back to their home countries since October 2017.

Jaishankar said that Sri Lanka might have become complacent on terrorism since the end of its civil war. "This may end up being a wake up call for that," he added.

CNN's Tara John and CNN National Security Analyst Peter Bergen also contributed to this report. Journalist Sandun Arosha F'do reported from Colombo, Sri Lanka.

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https://www.cnn.com/2019/04/22/asia/sri-lanka-investigation-easter-attacks/index.html

2019-04-22 07:50:00Z
52780273201173

Sri Lanka bombings death toll rises to 290 in 'brand-new type of terrorism' - CNN

Police have arrested 24 people in connection with the suicide bombs, the worst violence the South Asian island has seen since its bloody civil war ended 10 years ago.

A ninth improvised explosive device (IED) was defused near the capital's Bandaranaike International Airport on Sunday evening, according to an Air Force spokesman. The blasts appears to have targeted tourism hotspots, as well as churches, in a bid to gain maximum global attention.

Foreign nationals are among the dead, including five British citizens, two of whom held dual US-UK nationality, three Indians, two Australians, two Chinese cousins, one person from the Netherlands, two Turkish citizens and one Portuguese person.

No group has claimed responsibility for the attacks, but Sri Lankan Defense Minister Ruwan Wijewardene said the "terrorist incident" was carried out by those following "religious extremism."

On Sunday evening it was revealed in a leaked memo that police had been warned of a potential attack by the Nations Thawahid Jaman (NTJ), an Islamist group led by Mohomad Saharan. It is unclear whether the information related to Sunday's bombings.

The Prime Minister of Sri Lanka has said the intelligence was not shared with him and other ministers. Sajith Premadasa, minister of housing construction and cultural affairs, said the officers had acted with "negligence and incompetence."

Analysts, however, have cautioned against rushing to conclusions. Dhruva Jaishankar, a fellow in Foreign Policy Studies at Brookings India, said the NTJ is a little-known group, which has previously defaced Buddhist statues, and was unlikely to have the capacity or sophistication to execute an attack like Sunday's without assistance.

While there is a known transnational Islamist presence in places such as Pakistan, Malaysia, and the Philippines, Jaishankar said little is known about Islamic radicalism in Sri Lanka and that it was "premature" to speculate on which organizations might have been involved.

Christianity is a minority religion in Sri Lanka, accounting for less than 10% of the total population of 21.4 million. According to census data, 70.2% of Sri Lankans identify as Buddhist, 12% Hindu, 9.7% Muslim, and 7.4% Christian.

It is estimated that 82% of Sri Lankan Christians are Roman Catholic.

A social media blackout has been enforced as the authorities try to contain the violence and establish who carried out the attacks and why.

How it unfolded

The first wave of attacks struck during packed Easter Sunday services.

More than 1,000 people had come to the one of the explosion sites, St. Sebastian's Church, where 102 people were killed, according to Father Edmond Tillekeratne, social communications director for the Archdiocese of Colombo.

As the Easter services got underway at churches in the cities of Colombo, Negombo and Batticaloa, the bombers detonated their devices. The bombs blew out the tiled roofs of churches, killing worshipers. Images showed bloodied pews, broken glass and plumes of smoke.

"You can see pieces of flesh thrown all over the walls and on the sanctuary and even outside of the church," Tillekeratne said.

More blasts ripped through three luxury hotels in the capital city of Colombo: The Shangri-La, Cinnamon Grand and Kingsbury, all popular with foreign tourists and the country's business community. At the Shangri-La, the bomb was detonated just after 9 a.m local time at the Table One cafe as holidaymakers and guests were eating breakfast.

Jaishankar, who has visited the three hotels targeted, said there was "very little security" at any of the venues.

Another blast rocked a hotel in front of the Dehiwala Zoo in Dehiwala-Mount Lavinia. The final blast struck a private house in Mahawila Gardens, in Dematagoda, during a raid in connection with the attacks, officials said. Three police officers were killed.

In recent years, Sri Lanka has boomed as a holiday destination, welcoming 2.2 million inbound visitors in 2017 compared to just over one million in 2012, providing tourists with an affordable alternative to tropical destinations such as the Maldives.

On Monday morning, however, the city's beachfront hotel district, where several of the bombs struck, was heavily guarded by soldiers carrying AK47s and bomb-sniffing dogs were at closed hotel gates where guests were being checked in.

Rise of ISIS in Asia

Premadasa, the Sri Lankan minister, called Sunday's attacks a "brand-new type of terrorism."

"We have not had any separatist movements in the past 10 years and this came as a shock to all of us," he said.

The civil war between the separatist Tamil Tigers and the Sri Lankan government ended in 2009, after claiming between 70,000 and 80,000 lives. Handling that conflict, Premadasa said, had prepared the government to deal with terrorism.

"During the 30-year terrorist war there were indiscriminate attacks on all institutions, they (the Tamil Tigers) did not spare any in their path towards a separatist state, but we were victorious in defeating terrorism," he added.

The targets of the attacks -- churches packed with the faithful on Easter Sunday and three five-star hotels catering to foreigners -- have figured in previous bombings in the Asia region and beyond in recent years.

In January 2019, ISIS claimed responsibility for an attack that killed at least 20 in a church in the Philippines. The attack also took place on a Sunday, when worshipers were gathered for mass.

In May 2018, ISIS claimed responsibility for carrying out attacks at three churches in Indonesia, killing at least 12 people and injuring dozens more. And, in 2017, on Palm Sunday, ISIS killed at least 49 people gathered for Mass at two churches in Egypt.

The collapse of the ISIS caliphate in Iraq and Syria has sent as many as 5,600 foreign fighters back to their home countries since October 2017.

Jaishankar said that Sri Lanka might have become complacent on terrorism since the end of its civil war. "This may end up being a wake up call for that," he added.

CNN's Tara John and CNN National Security Analyst Peter Bergen also contributed to this report. Journalist Sandun Arosha F'do reported from Colombo, Sri Lanka.

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https://www.cnn.com/2019/04/22/asia/sri-lanka-investigation-easter-attacks/index.html

2019-04-22 07:35:00Z
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Sri Lanka bombings death toll rises to 290 in 'brand-new type of terrorism' - CNN

Police have arrested 24 people in connection with the suicide bombs, the worst violence the South Asian island has seen since its bloody civil war ended 10 years ago.

A ninth improvised explosive device (IED) was defused near the capital's Bandaranaike International Airport on Sunday evening, according to an Air Force spokesman. The blasts appears to have targeted tourism hotspots, as well as churches, in a bid to gain maximum global attention.

Foreign nationals are among the dead, including five British citizens, two of whom held dual US-UK nationality, three Indians, two Australians, two Chinese cousins, one person from the Netherlands, two Turkish citizens and one Portuguese person.

No group has claimed responsibility for the attacks, but Sri Lankan Defense Minister Ruwan Wijewardene said the "terrorist incident" was carried out by those following "religious extremism."

On Sunday evening it was revealed in a leaked memo that police had been warned of a potential attack by the Nations Thawahid Jaman (NTJ), an Islamist group led by Mohomad Saharan. It is unclear whether the information related to Sunday's bombings.

The Prime Minister of Sri Lanka has said he and other ministers had not been warned. Sajith Premadasa, minister of housing construction and cultural affairs, said the officers had acted with "negligence and incompetence."

Analysts, however, have cautioned against rushing to conclusions. Dhruva Jaishankar, a fellow in Foreign Policy Studies at Brookings India, said the NTJ is a little-known group, which has previously defaced Buddhist statues, and was unlikely to have the capacity or sophistication to execute an attack like Sunday's without assistance.

While there is a known transnational Islamist presence in places such as Pakistan, Malaysia, and the Philippines, Jaishankar said little is known about Islamic radicalism in Sri Lanka and that it was "premature" to speculate on which organizations might have been involved.

Christianity is a minority religion in Sri Lanka, accounting for less than 10% of the total population of 21.4 million. According to census data, 70.2% of Sri Lankans identify as Buddhist, 12% Hindu, 9.7% Muslim, and 7.4% Christian.

It is estimated that 82% of Sri Lankan Christians are Roman Catholic.

A social media blackout has been enforced as the authorities try to contain the violence and establish who carried out the attacks and why.

How it unfolded

The first wave of attacks struck during packed Easter Sunday services.

More than 1,000 people had come to the one of the explosion sites, Sebastian's Church, according to Father Edmond Tillekeratne, social communications director for the Archdiocese of Colombo.

As the Easter services got underway at churches in the cities of Colombo, Negombo and Batticaloa, the bombers detonated their devices. The bombs blew out the tiled roofs of churches, killing worshippers in the process. Images showed bloodied pews, broken glass and plumes of smoke.

"You can see pieces of flesh thrown all over the walls and on the sanctuary and even outside of the church," Tillekeratne said.

More blasts ripped through three luxury hotels in the capital city of Colombo: The Shangri La, Cinnamon Grand and Kingsbury, popular with foreign tourists and the country's business community. At the Shangri-La, the bomb was detonated just after 9 a.m local time at the Table One cafe as holidaymakers and guests were eating breakfast.

Jaishankar, who has visited the three hotels targeted, said there was "very little security" at any of the venues.

Another blast rocked a hotel in front of the Dehiwala Zoo in Dehiwala-Mount Lavinia. The final blast struck a private house in Mahawila Gardens, in Dematagoda, during a raid in connection with the attacks, officials said. Three police officers were killed.

In recent years, Sri Lanka has boomed as a holiday destination, welcoming 2.2 million inbound visitors in 2017 compared to just over one million in 2012, providing tourists with an affordable alternative to tropical destinations such as the Maldives.

On Monday morning, however, the city's beachfront hotel district, where several of the bombs struck, was heavily guarded by soldiers carrying AK47s and bomb-sniffing dogs were at closed hotel gates where guests were being checked in.

Rise of ISIS in Asia

Premadasa, the Sri Lankan minister, called Sunday's attacks a "brand-new type of terrorism."

"We have not had any separatist movements in the past 10 years and this came as a shock to all of us," he said.

The civil war between the separatist Tamil Tigers and the Sri Lankan government ended in 2009, after claiming between 70,000 and 80,000 lives. Handling that conflict, Premadasa said, had prepared the government to deal with terrorism.

"During the 30-year terrorist war there were indiscriminate attacks on all institutions, they (the Tamil Tigers) did not spare any in their path towards a separatist state, but we were victorious in defeating terrorism," he added.

The targets of the attacks -- churches packed with the faithful on Easter Sunday and three five-star hotels catering to foreigners -- have figured in previous bombings in the Asia region and beyond in recent years.

In January 2019, ISIS claimed responsibility for an attack that killed at least 20 in a church in the Philippines. The attack also took place on a Sunday, when worshipers were gathered for mass.

In May 2018, ISIS claimed responsibility for carrying out attacks at three churches in Indonesia, killing at least 12 people and injuring dozens more. And, in 2017, on Palm Sunday, ISIS killed at least 49 people gathered for Mass at two churches in Egypt.

The collapse of the ISIS caliphate in Iraq and Syria has sent as many as 5,600 foreign fighters back to their home countries since October 2017.

Jaishankar said that Sri Lanka might have become complacent on terrorism since the end of its civil war. "This may end up being a wake up call for that," he added.

CNN's Tara John and CNN National Security Analyst Peter Bergen also contributed to this report. Journalist Sandun Arosha F'do reported from Colombo, Sri Lanka.

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https://www.cnn.com/2019/04/22/asia/sri-lanka-investigation-easter-attacks/index.html

2019-04-22 07:03:00Z
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