2019 Easter bombings: Sri Lanka says ex-spy chief ‘directed’ attack that killed 279

Sri Lanka’s nationalist information curate has straight accused the country’s erstwhile quality main of orchestrating the 2019 Easter Sunday bombings, marking the archetypal authoritative connection linking a elder authorities authoritative to 1 of the deadliest attacks successful the island’s history.Addressing parliament connected Wednesday, Ananda Wijepala said investigations had recovered that retired Major General Suresh Sallay “conspired with and strategically directed” Islamic extremists earlier they carried retired the attacks that killed 279 people.Wijepala claimed Sallay had identified a Catholic religion arsenic a people and met members of the extremist web conscionable weeks earlier the bombings. Sallay, who was arrested successful February connected allegations of aiding and abetting the attacks, has denied immoderate engagement done his lawyer.The minister’s remarks travel years aft allegations archetypal surfaced successful a 2023 study by British broadcaster, which cited whistleblower grounds claiming elements wrong Sri Lanka’s quality apparatus allowed the attacks to proceed to power the 2019 statesmanlike election. Investigators person besides secured a tribunal bid preventing erstwhile president Gotabaya Rajapaksa from leaving the country, and helium is expected to beryllium questioned arsenic portion of the ongoing probe.

What was the Easter Sunday attack?

On April 21, 2019, a radical of Sri Lankan extremists inspired by the Islamic State carried retired six near-simultaneous termination bombings targeting 3 churches and 3 luxury hotels. The attacks struck 2 Catholic churches, a Protestant religion and high-end hotels successful and astir Colombo during Easter celebrations.The coordinated blasts killed 279 people, including dozens of overseas nationals, and wounded hundreds more. The onslaught remains Sri Lanka’s deadliest enactment of coercion since the extremity of the country’s civilian war.