Sri Lanka Health Minister Rajitha Senaratne stated Monday that the series of deadly explosions across the country was organised by the local group Thowheed Jamath. He also stated that the attacks had been carried out with the help of a vast international network.
"We do not believe these attacks were carried out by a group of people who were confined to this country", the minister said. "There was an international network without which these attacks could not have succeeded".
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At the same time, Telecommunications Minister Harin Fernando tweeted an internal police memo from 11 April, warning that the group National Thowheed Jamath planned to bomb Catholic churches and the Indian High Commission.
Addressing the terrorist attack threat, the office of Sri Lankan President Maithripala Sirisena announced that a national emergency would be declared, starting on Monday at midnight.
National Thowheed Jamath is an Islamic group, founded in 2004 that is based in Tamil Nadu, India.