Jihadi threat persists despite arrests

The danger is not over, we are now a victim of global terrorism. Rani Wickremesinghe

Sri Lankan authorities have arrested or killed all the jihadists responsible for Easter suicide bombings, but the island still faces the threat of ‘global terrorism,’ the prime minister said yesterday.

Ranil Wickremesinghe told parliament that his Buddhistmajority nation was a victim of Islamist extremists and needed international support to deal with the persisting threat.

“The danger is not over, we are now a victim of global terrorism,” Wickremesinghe said.

“Even if we have arrested or killed every terrorist responsible for the Easter Sunday attacks, extremists abroad can still cause trouble for us. We need intelligence sharing with foreign partners to deal with this challenge.”

His comments came as police chief Chandana Wickramaratne said they have accounted for every individual involved in the April 21 attacks that killed 257 people at three churches and three luxury hotels.

“All those who organised and carried out the suicide bomb attack have died or is in our custody,” Wickramaratne said.

“The two bomb experts of the group have been killed. We have seized the explosives they had stored for future attacks.”

Wickramaratne, who was named acting police chief last week after President Maithripala Sirisena suspended his predecessor over his failure to act on warnings about the attacks, said public life was slowly returning to normal.

The government reopened public schools on Monday, but attendance dropped to below 10 per cent in many places with parents still fearing attacks.

“We have strengthened security for all schools,” the police chief said.

“We are also conducting a programme to create awareness about safety and security in all schools.”

Wickramaratne did not say how many people were in custody over the bombings, but police spokesman Ruwan Gunasekera said Monday that 73 people, including nine women, were being held. The bombings were blamed on a local group, the National Thowheeth Jama’ath (NTJ), but the Islamic State group has also claimed responsibility.

Police said religious tensions have eased at Negombo, a town north of Colombo that suffered the highest death toll in the Easter Sunday attacks.

A bomb at St Sebastian’s church in the town killed more than 100 worshippers. — AFP