Indian IB Warned Sri Lanka Of Threat Before Suicide Attacks
COLOMBO: Sri Lankan intelligence officials were tipped off by Indian intelligence officers about an imminent attack by terrorists hours before a series of suicide bombings killed more than 300 people on Easter Sunday, three sources with direct knowledge of the matter said.
Three churches and four hotels were hit by suicide bombers on Sunday morning, killing 321 people and wounding 500, sending shockwaves through an island state that has been relatively peaceful since a civil war ended a decade ago.
Based on India’s inputs, Sri Lankan police had sent out an alert saying that based on a foreign intelligence input, a radical Islamist group National Thowheeth Jama’ath (NTJ) may carry out various attacks in the country, Indian Express reported.
Based on India’s inputs, Sri Lankan police had sent out an alert saying that based on a foreign intelligence input, a radical Islamist group National Thowheeth Jama’ath (NTJ) may carry out various attacks in the country, Indian Express reported.
The alert by Sri Lankan police was issued on April 11 by Deputy Inspector General of Police Priyalal Dissanayake. It was addressed to several security divisions, asking for heightened security of VIPs and senior government officials, Economy Next reported.
Sri Lanka police had alerted the nation about ten days before Sunday’s serial blasts that terrorists would target prominent churches across the island nation. Security had also been increased shortly after the alert.
The police were also alerted about a suspected suicide bomber in Colombo. Foreign intelligence agencies had warned Sri Lanka about suspected `jammat’ activity.
Six serial blasts rocked Sri Lanka early on Sunday(April 21) morning. The explosions hit three churches and three luxury hotels in Colombo and other parts of the country, killing 185 people
ISIS claimed responsibility for the attacks on Tuesday, without providing evidence of its involvement.In some places, the Easter Sunday bombings in Sri Lanka struck entire families. Indian intelligence officers contacted their Sri Lankan counterparts two hours before the first attack to warn of a specific threat on churches, one Sri Lankan defence source and an Indian government source said.
Another Sri Lankan defence source said a warning came “hours before” the first strike. One of the Sri Lankan sources said a warning was also sent by Indians on Saturday night.(With Agency Inputs ).
