‘A river of blood’: Sri Lankan suicide bombers kill at least 290, injure 500 in Easter Sunday blasts
- Dozens of foreigners, including Chinese and Japanese, killed in the coordinated bombings across the capital Colombo
- Authorities investigate reports of intelligence briefing warning of attacks, as tourists flock to the airport amid fears of ongoing threat
Health Minister Rajitha Senaratne said seven Sri Lankan bombers from the local National Thowheeth Jama’ath (NTJ) group were linked to the near-simultaneous attacks on three churches and three luxury hotels in and around Colombo.
Senaratne said while the group was domestic, foreign links were suspected in the country’s worst attacks for more than a decade.
Not much is known about the NTJ, a radical group that has been linked to the vandalising of Buddhist statues.
Sri Lankan President Maithripala Sirisena said he would seek foreign assistance to track down international terrorist links.
“The intelligence reports [indicate] that foreign terrorist organisations are behind the local terrorists. Therefore, the president is to seek the assistance of the foreign countries,” he said in a statement.
The president said he would also declare a nationwide emergency that will go into effect at midnight.