Relatives and friends burry the victims of a series of bomb blasts, at cemetery Don David Katuwapitiya in Colombo, Sri Lanka.
Two Muslim brothers, among the suicide bombers, are believed to be behind the deadly attacks in Sri Lanka which left more than 300 dead. The Sri Lankan government attributes the attacks to a little-known Islamist group, the NTJ. The Islamic State also claimed responsibility for the attacks on Tuesday, April 23, without giving any evidence.
The first elements of the investigation into the attacks which have killed more than 300 in Sri Lanka , including in churches, show that they were committed in retaliation for the carnage of the mosques of Christchurch in New Zealand , said Tuesday the Sri Lankan Deputy Minister of Defense.
“Preliminary investigations revealed that what happened in Sri Lanka was committed in retaliation for the attack on Muslims in Christchurch,” Ruwan Wijewardene told Parliament. Last month, a 28-year-old Australian identified as a white supremacist, Brenton Harrison Tarrant, shot dead 50 people praying in two mosques in the New Zealand city and broadcast the carnage live on Facebook.
An Islamist group
Sri Lanka continues its hunt for those responsible for the attacks, blamed by the authorities on a hitherto little-known Islamist group, the National Thowheeth Jama’ath (NTJ). “It has now been revealed that this National Thowheeth Jama’ath group that carried out the attacks had close ties to JMI,” Ruwan Wijewardene said, apparently referring to a group called the Jamaat-ul-Mujahideen India, a group radical Islamist little known in India. According to press reports, JMI was formed last year and is affiliated with a group of the same name in Bangladesh.
The minister added that Sri Lanka was receiving international assistance for the investigation, without further clarification. The state of emergency went into effect on Monday midnight to give the security forces greater latitude.
Two key brothers of the suicide bombers
According to sources close to the investigation, cited by Agence France Presse, two Muslim brothers would have played a key role in the attacks.
The two brothers, aged in their twenties and whose names have not been revealed, operated a family “terrorist cell” , according to investigators. They blew themselves up on Sunday morning at the Cinnamon Grand Hotel and Shangri-La in Colombo respectively. A fourth luxury hotel, next to those hit, was also on the list of Easter Sunday targets, AFP learned from the same sources.
Local police made further arrests, bringing the number of people arrested to 40. Investigators are trying to determine whether the NTJ was able to benefit from foreign logistical support . The main feat of arms of this movement so far was the degradation of Buddhist statues last December.
ISIS claims responsibility for attack, without evidence
The Islamic State (IS) group claimed responsibility for the attacks on Tuesday , the jihadist organization’s propaganda body Amaq reported on Tuesday. IS does not provide any evidence to support its claim.
A day of meditation
While the investigation continues, Sri Lanka paid poignant tribute on Tuesday to the 310 dead and 500 injured in the suicide attacks on Easter Sunday, the deadliest Islamist attacks in South Asia, which led to the declaration of the state. emergency.
The island of 21 million people remained silent for three minutes at 8:30 a.m. local time (5 a.m. in France), the time of the first suicide bomb explosion two days earlier, at the Saint-Antoine Catholic Church in Colombo . The government has declared a day of national mourning. Stores selling alcohol are closed, flags are at half mast and radio and television must adapt their music programming.
More Stories
Attacks in Sri Lanka. Police chief refuses to leave despite president’s injunction
Sri Lanka. 140 people wanted, a shooting in the east of the country
Sri Lanka. Wave of attacks in hotels and churches on Easter Day: more than 200 dead