Sri Lankan President Admits to Security Laps Regarding Easter Bombing

The Sri Lankan President has admitted to a security lap which failed to prevent the Easter bombing this Sunday. Some senior official had received a tip from the Indian intelligence informing them of a suspected terrorist attack targeting churches and hotels in Sri Lanka.

Blasts in Sri Lanka on the eve of Easter had killed more than 290 people.

Senior Officials Were the Root Cause of Security Laps

The President of Sri Lanka Maithripala Sirisena while talking to the media stated that security officers had been tipped off by the Indian intelligence regarding the execution of a terrorist attack targeting churches and hotels across Sri Lanka weeks in advance but didn’t bother to rely on the information causing this security lapse.

He further told that steps had been taken to remove the inspector general of police and demanded defense minister to resign immediately. The Deputy Defense Minister Ruwan Wijewardene tolled media that it was their mistake and they must own it. If the concerned person had received this information on timely bases, this incident could have been prevented or minimize the damage done.

Lakshman Kiriella, a member of parliament, told the media that senior security officials deliberately withheld the information for a reason not known. They received information regarding the suspected attack on 4^th April. Furthermore, they neglected to inform the president and Prime minister regarding the attack. They failed to take adequate steps to prevent such an atrocious event from occurring Kiriella added.

Islamic State has Claimed Responsibility for the Attack

The Islamic State has claimed responsibility for the attack but provided no evidence regarding the attack. Security officials, on the other hand, blamed a local extremist group called National Thowheed Jamath (NTJ) for the blast.

In a press conference, a security official said that NJT has no history of conducting such large scale attacks. We suspect they had help from outside the official told media. The NJS till now has not claimed any responsibility for the attack.