Colombo, Apr 23 (UNI) Initial investigations have revealed that an Islamist extremist group named National Thowheed Jamath (NTJ) had carried out the Easter Sunday terror attack in response to the terror attack on Muslims in Christchurch, New Zealand, State Defence Minister Ruwan Wijewardene stated.
Making a special statement in Parliament on Tuesday, Mr Wijewardene also said that the group has links to international terrorist group JMI, though he did not elaborate.
Mr Wijewardene said that the Government should take immediate steps to ban such terror organisations and ensure that their members are brought to justice. He further said measures should be taken to seize assets of those who were behind the attacks.
Sri Lanka's worst terror attack targeting churches and luxury hotels on Easter Sunday was carried out by the local Islamic extremists in retaliation for the mosque attacks in New Zealand, a senior minister informed Parliament on Tuesday, citing the initial probe result.
A string of powerful blasts ripped through three churches and as many luxury hotels frequented by foreigners in Sri Lanka on Easter Sunday, killing 321 people and injuring more than 500 others, shattering a decade of peace in the country following the end of the brutal civil war with the LTTE.
UNI XC-SNU 1515