COLOMBO, Sri Lanka — The coordinated Easter Sunday bombings that ripped through Sri Lankan churches and luxury hotels were carried out by seven suicide bombers,…
COLOMBO, Sri Lanka — The coordinated Easter Sunday bombings that ripped through Sri Lankan churches and luxury hotels were carried out by seven suicide bombers, a government investigator said on Monday.
An analysis of the attackers’ body parts made clear that they were suicide bombers, said Ariyananda Welianga, a forensic crime investigator.
He said most attacks were by one bomber, with two at Colombo’s Shangri-La Hotel.
The bombings, Sri Lanka’s deadliest violence since a devastating civil war ended a decade ago on the island nation, killed at least 290 people with more than 500 wounded, police spokesperson Ruwan Gunasekara said on Monday.
Intelligence failure
Police investigating the bombings are examining reports that intelligence agencies had warnings of possible attacks, officials said.
Two government ministers have alluded to intelligence failures.
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 said his father had heard of the possibility of an attack as well and had warned him not to enter popular churches.
And Mano Ganeshan, the minister for national integration, said his ministry’s security officers had been warned by their division about the possibility that two suicide bombers would target politicians.
The police’s Criminal Investigation Department, which is handling the investigation into the blasts, will look into those reports, Gunasekara said.
Religious extremists
Earlier, Defense Minister Ruwan Wijewardena described the blasts as a terrorist attack by religious extremists, and police said 13 suspects had been arrested, though there was no immediate claim of responsibility.
