New Delhi (Sputnik): The threat of more Islamist militant attacks in Sri Lanka has been contained, army commander Lt. Gen. Mahesh Senanayake said on Friday.
In an interview with the Reuters news agency, the army chief said there was an international link to the Easter Sunday bombings that devastated at least three churches and three hotels across the island nation.
READ MORE: Sri Lanka: Ex-Army Man Held with Hundreds of Bullets, Swords
He went on to claim that the country's security services have dismantled most of the terror network linked to those bombings.
"There is a link internationally, so we are working on those lines. Definitely, there is an IS (Daesh) link. That doesn't mean it was a direct IS hit. But we are trying to establish how deep it is in order to plan our (military) operations," Lt. Gen. Senanayake told Reuters.
The military will head back to their barracks soon as the country looks to return to normality, the army chief added.
READ MORE: Twelve Hard-Core Terrorists in Sri Lankan Custody — President
On 21 April, Easter Sunday, churches and hotels were targeted in a series of coordinated terrorist suicide bombings in Colombo, Negombo and Batticaloa. At least 253 people were killed, including 46 foreign nationals, while over 500 others were left injured.
Sri Lankan government officials have confirmed that the seven suicide bombers involved in the attacks were Sri Lankan citizens associated with Daesh's splinter Islamist group — National Thowheeth Jama'ath (NTJ). The NTJ was previously known for its attacks against Buddhists and Sufis.
*Daesh is a terror group outlawed in Russia and many other countries.
