Colombo: The Sri Lankan security authorities have said that it has eliminated or put behind bars all those who were part of the Easter day bombings that killed more than 300 people in churches and high end hotels.
In a press conference, the acting Inspector General of Police, C. D. Wickremarante said that two bomb experts were killed in the security forces attack on those behind the bombings.
The police and security forces have seized all explosives possessed by the terrorists.
Earlier the Criminal Investigation Department had seized Rs.7 billion worth assets of the local terror group, National Thowheed Jammath (NTJ), which the Sri Lankan authorities believe to be behind the dastardly attack.
In a welcome sign that things are slowly returning back to normalcy, the authorities has lifted the ban on social media platforms, which was imposed to prevent flare up of communal tensions between a Sinhalese group and a Muslim group following the bombings.
Sri Lanka witnessed one of the biggest attack in its recent history on 21 April, which was Easter Sunday. Churches and high end hotels in Colombo, Negombo, Kochichikede, and Batticaloa were targeted by suicide bombers. The attacks killed around 300 people and injured more than 500 in eight coordinated attacks.
Sri Lankan security forces closed in on the local terror outfit NTJ for the attacks. Meanwhile, in a video clip, the Islamic State has taken responsibility for the attack.
In addition, weeks after the attack, the Islamic State also released the video and audio of its elusive leader, Abu Bagdhdadi, speaking about the attacks in Sri Lanka. He said it was in retaliation for the killing of IS members by Western forces.
Meanwhile, the National Investigation Agency (NIA) had begun investigation into the activities of the NTJ in Tamil Nadu and Kerala. Raids were conducted in Kerala and Tamil Nadu and outfits like Popular Front of India and its political arm SDPI came under scanner.
The investigations revealed that the IS operatives had planned Sri Lankan type attacks in Kerala. They had planned to attack cultural festivals like Thrissur Pooram and other spiritual gatherings in a bid to destroy the social fabric of the state.
Investigations are still under way to nab all the extremists behind the IS activities in the State.
