A video posted online by supporters of the Islamic State's Sunni militant group shows the suicide bombers carrying out Sunday's bloody attacks in Sri Lanka. They pose next to flags of the Islamic State. Three Catholic churches and three five-star hotels were targeted on Easter Sunday by a total of nine explosions, which killed around 300 people and injured over 500. Near-simultaneous attacks hit locations on Sri Lanka's western and eastern coasts. Lanka and are believed to constitute the bloodiest terrorist attack in the history of the country.
All seven suicide bombers who carried out the attacks on Sunday were identified as citizens of Sri Lanka and members of the Sunni jihadist group National Thowheeth Jama'ath (NTJ). The Sri Lankan group has claimed responsibility for a handful of mostly sabotage operations in its three-year history. It is believed to have been founded by Islamic fundamentalists in 2016. It made its first public appearance in 2018, in response to a series of anti-Muslim pogroms led by Sinhalese Buddhists in the island country. There are reports suggesting that Sunday's blasts were part of a much larger operation aimed at destabilizing Sri Lanka. Police said they found around 100 bomb detonators at the Colombo bus station on Monday, while an unexploded bomb was found inside a vehicle parked in another church in the Sri Lankan capital. An unexploded bomb was also discovered near the Bandaranaike International Airport in Colombo on Sunday night.
Indian intelligence officials were the first to openly trace a connection between Sunday's attacks and the Islamic State, the Sunni militant group also known as the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS). An Indian official told Hong Kong's Asia Times newspaper that "the NTJ was just a soldier and that it was headed by someone else." On Monday, a video appeared on an online channel associated with ISIS supporters, containing a montage of the aftermath of Sunday's attacks, interspersed with static images of masked men brandishing rifles in front of ISIS flags. The video names the men who could be the actors of the suicide attacks. The ISIS video throws threats against "crusaders", an anti-Western term often used by Sunni jihadists. The video also warns that "the armies of the Islamic State remain everywhere and continue to blow up the fortresses of the infidels". Many think of the tragedy of Notre-D'ame.
Meanwhile, the Sri Lankan government declared a state of emergency on Monday night, which is expected to last several weeks. The announcement of the state of emergency was made by the country's president, Maithripala Sirisena, following a meeting of the National Security Council, which he chaired.
