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| Sri Lanka Bombings Live Updates: ISIS Claims Responsibility for Attacks | Sri Lanka Bombings Live Updates: ISIS Claims Responsibility for Attacks |
| (about 1 hour later) | |
| • The Islamic State claimed responsibility on Tuesday for the Easter Sunday bombings at churches and hotels in Sri Lanka, as the government there raised the number of people killed to 321. The group’s Amaq news agency called the bombers “Islamic State fighters.” | |
| • The government said the bombings might have been in retaliation for the killing of 50 people last month at mosques in New Zealand, and that two Islamist extremist groups might have been involved, not one. | • The government said the bombings might have been in retaliation for the killing of 50 people last month at mosques in New Zealand, and that two Islamist extremist groups might have been involved, not one. |
| • The F.B.I. has joined the investigation, officials said, as recriminations continued over the Sri Lanka government’s failure to act on warnings that terrorists were planning to attack churches. The country’s highest Roman Catholic prelate joined those chastising the government. | • The F.B.I. has joined the investigation, officials said, as recriminations continued over the Sri Lanka government’s failure to act on warnings that terrorists were planning to attack churches. The country’s highest Roman Catholic prelate joined those chastising the government. |
| • The first funerals were held at a damaged church in western Sri Lanka, where as many as 100 people were killed. The coffins, many bearing the remains of children, were interred as the police raised the death toll to 321. [Read about some of the victims.] | • The first funerals were held at a damaged church in western Sri Lanka, where as many as 100 people were killed. The coffins, many bearing the remains of children, were interred as the police raised the death toll to 321. [Read about some of the victims.] |
| More than two days after the Sri Lanka bombings, the Islamic State claimed responsibility for the coordinated attacks. | More than two days after the Sri Lanka bombings, the Islamic State claimed responsibility for the coordinated attacks. |
| The group’s news agency, Amaq, released a bulletin on Tuesday stating that the attacks were carried out by “Islamic State fighters.” The statement, which was disseminated on the group’s chat rooms on the app Telegram, also said that the bombings targeted Christians as well as citizens of countries belonging to the coalition fighting the Islamic State, also known as ISIS. | The group’s news agency, Amaq, released a bulletin on Tuesday stating that the attacks were carried out by “Islamic State fighters.” The statement, which was disseminated on the group’s chat rooms on the app Telegram, also said that the bombings targeted Christians as well as citizens of countries belonging to the coalition fighting the Islamic State, also known as ISIS. |
| In a later news release, the Islamic State identified the seven suicide bombers by their noms de guerre, and specified which of them had gone to each of the churches that was bombed during what it called “the infidel holiday.” | |
| Three of the noms de guerre match the names issued by an Islamic State-linked chat room on the app Telegram a day after the attack. On Monday, the “Greenb1rds” chat room posted three images of masked men it said were the “commandos” involved in the bombings, posing before the Islamic State flag and pointing their index fingers skyward, a gesture used by Islamic State adherents to indicate belief in a single God. | |
| The group has repeatedly called for assaults on churches, particularly since the New Zealand mosque attacks. | |
| The Islamic State claim suggests that the recapture of territory it once held in Syria and Iraq does not mean the group is no longer a threat. | |
| “We can’t tell you immediately, definitively to whom they had links,” Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe said at a news conference. But from the start, he said, “there was suspicion that there were links with ISIS.” | |
| Now, he added, “some of the evidence points to that.” | |
| “There seems to have been foreign involvement” in the bombings, Mr. Wickremesinghe said, and investigators believe that some of the attackers “have traveled abroad and have come back.” | |
| He added that some of the attackers, including one or two of the suicide bombers, had been in Syria. But he stopped short of saying that they had fought for the Islamic State, adding that their time in Syria was not necessarily the source of the bombing plot. | |
| “You can meet people in any part,” he said. “You can meet them in London. You needn’t go to the region.” | |
| The prime minister said several countries were aiding in the investigation, and the United States ambassador to Sri Lanka, Alaina B. Teplitz, said that the F.B.I. had joined it. | |
| The coffins came one by one, some heavy and others much lighter. | The coffins came one by one, some heavy and others much lighter. |
| As bulldozers cleared more space in a vacant lot near St. Sebastian’s Church in Negombo, barefoot men dripping with sweat scooped dirt with shovels in punishing heat. | As bulldozers cleared more space in a vacant lot near St. Sebastian’s Church in Negombo, barefoot men dripping with sweat scooped dirt with shovels in punishing heat. |
| One family stood in the shade. They were there for the burial of an 11-year-old boy. | One family stood in the shade. They were there for the burial of an 11-year-old boy. |
| “I don’t even know what to say,” said Lasanthi Anusha, a woman who came for the burial of her son’s classmate. “There were even smaller ones.” | “I don’t even know what to say,” said Lasanthi Anusha, a woman who came for the burial of her son’s classmate. “There were even smaller ones.” |
| Tuesday was the beginning of the first mass burials of the victims of the suicide attacks in Sri Lanka, which killed more than 300 people on Sunday, including many children. Soldiers and an armored personnel carrier lined the roads as the burials took place. | Tuesday was the beginning of the first mass burials of the victims of the suicide attacks in Sri Lanka, which killed more than 300 people on Sunday, including many children. Soldiers and an armored personnel carrier lined the roads as the burials took place. |
| Of the half-dozen sites simultaneously attacked on Sunday, the church in Negombo was the hardest hit. As many as 100 people were killed there. | Of the half-dozen sites simultaneously attacked on Sunday, the church in Negombo was the hardest hit. As many as 100 people were killed there. |
| On Tuesday, priests wearing crisp white robes trimmed with black sashes held funerals in a large tent just outside the church. The funerals were scheduled to go on all day. The neighborhood around the church had been turned into an enormous, fortified mourning ground, with hundreds of soldiers deployed in every direction and little white flags fluttering in the wind. | On Tuesday, priests wearing crisp white robes trimmed with black sashes held funerals in a large tent just outside the church. The funerals were scheduled to go on all day. The neighborhood around the church had been turned into an enormous, fortified mourning ground, with hundreds of soldiers deployed in every direction and little white flags fluttering in the wind. |
| Sri Lankan officials raised the possibility on Tuesday that the bombers were hoping to avenge the killings of 50 Muslims in a shooting spree at two mosques in Christchurch, New Zealand, in March. | Sri Lankan officials raised the possibility on Tuesday that the bombers were hoping to avenge the killings of 50 Muslims in a shooting spree at two mosques in Christchurch, New Zealand, in March. |
| “The preliminary investigations have revealed that what happened in Sri Lanka was in retaliation for the attack against Muslims in Christchurch,” a junior defense minister, Ruwan Wijewardene, told Parliament. | “The preliminary investigations have revealed that what happened in Sri Lanka was in retaliation for the attack against Muslims in Christchurch,” a junior defense minister, Ruwan Wijewardene, told Parliament. |
| Later Tuesday, Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe put it more cautiously, saying that investigators were looking into a possible connection. | Later Tuesday, Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe put it more cautiously, saying that investigators were looking into a possible connection. |
| “It’s possible it could have been because of the Christchurch attacks,” he said. “We cannot say here.” | “It’s possible it could have been because of the Christchurch attacks,” he said. “We cannot say here.” |
| Neither official said what had led investigators to think that the bombings might have been retribution for the New Zealand massacre. And it was not clear how that theory aligned with warnings months earlier that Islamist radicals posed a serious threat and were stockpiling explosives and other weapons. | Neither official said what had led investigators to think that the bombings might have been retribution for the New Zealand massacre. And it was not clear how that theory aligned with warnings months earlier that Islamist radicals posed a serious threat and were stockpiling explosives and other weapons. |
| Officials said on Monday that a little-known Sri Lankan extremist group, National Thowheeth Jama’ath, had carried out the bombings. | Officials said on Monday that a little-known Sri Lankan extremist group, National Thowheeth Jama’ath, had carried out the bombings. |
| On Tuesday, Mr. Wijewardene said that two local Islamist radical groups were involved: National Thowheeth Jama’ath and Jammiyathul Millathu Ibrahim. Again, Mr. Wickremesinghe was less definite, saying, “some investigations are underway on this other group.” | |
| Government officials say the people who carried out the attacks were all Sri Lankan. | |
| The leader of National Thowheeth Jama’ath might have been one of the suicide bombers who were killed, the prime minister said, and “there are a few people on the run.” | |
| At his news conference, Mr. Wickremesinghe was asked about the man police have identified as the leader of the group, Mohammed Zaharan. | |
| “He is suspected to be one of the suicide bombers; they have to confirm it,” Mr. Wickremesinghe said. “Many of them have been identified, but not all.” | |
| He added, “He was supposed to have led the group that went into one of the hotels.” | |
| A fourth hotel was one of the suicide bomb targets, the prime minister said, but that attack failed. He did not name the hotel or say how the attack had gone wrong. | |
| The government said on Tuesday that it had arrested 40 people in connection with the attacks, all of them Sri Lankans — an increase from the figure of 24 it gave on Monday. | |
| As for identifying and capturing people all the people involved, Mr. Wickremesinghe said, “We are making progress, that’s all I could tell you.” | |
| A full day of national mourning was declared across the country on Tuesday, as flags were lowered and a moment of silence was observed. | A full day of national mourning was declared across the country on Tuesday, as flags were lowered and a moment of silence was observed. |
| At 8:30 a.m., the time the first of six attacks were carried out on Sunday, Sri Lankans of differing faiths and ethnic groups bowed their heads and remained silent for three minutes. | At 8:30 a.m., the time the first of six attacks were carried out on Sunday, Sri Lankans of differing faiths and ethnic groups bowed their heads and remained silent for three minutes. |
| Government officials said the number of people confirmed killed in the attacks was 321, up from 290 on Monday. | Government officials said the number of people confirmed killed in the attacks was 321, up from 290 on Monday. |
| As part of the mourning period, liquor stores were ordered closed. Radio and television stations have played somber music throughout the day. | As part of the mourning period, liquor stores were ordered closed. Radio and television stations have played somber music throughout the day. |
| The front pages of local newspapers were similarly solemn on Tuesday. One, The Daily Mirror, printed a stark, all-black cover that read, “In remembrance of all those who lost their lives on 21.04.2019.” | The front pages of local newspapers were similarly solemn on Tuesday. One, The Daily Mirror, printed a stark, all-black cover that read, “In remembrance of all those who lost their lives on 21.04.2019.” |
| Cardinal Malcolm Ranjith, the archbishop of Colombo, condemned the government on Tuesday for failing to act on an intelligence report that warned of a potential attack on churches. | Cardinal Malcolm Ranjith, the archbishop of Colombo, condemned the government on Tuesday for failing to act on an intelligence report that warned of a potential attack on churches. |
| “News media reported that there was information pertaining to a possible attack,” Cardinal Ranjith said at a news conference. “If that’s the case, couldn’t we have prevented the situation? Why wasn’t there any action?” | “News media reported that there was information pertaining to a possible attack,” Cardinal Ranjith said at a news conference. “If that’s the case, couldn’t we have prevented the situation? Why wasn’t there any action?” |
| A security services briefing written at least 10 days before the bombings warned that National Thowheeth Jama’ath was planning to attack churches, but the government did not take action against the group. The prime minister, Mr. Wickremesinghe, and many of his cabinet ministers say the warning never reached them. | |
| “If it was known, certainly we would have prevented many of the attacks,” the prime minister said. | |
| “We have to look at the breakdown of security,” he said. “Some will have to be removed from their posts.” | |
| Sri Lankan officials took a series of extraordinary steps in an effort to keep control of their shaken country, aiming to prevent further extremist attacks and retaliatory violence. | Sri Lankan officials took a series of extraordinary steps in an effort to keep control of their shaken country, aiming to prevent further extremist attacks and retaliatory violence. |
| President Maithripala Sirisena said the government had given additional powers to the police and security forces to detain and interrogate people, and a curfew was imposed on Monday for the second day in a row, from 8 p.m. until 4 a.m. | |
| The government temporarily blocked several networks, including Facebook and Instagram. Users also reported being unable to access the messaging services WhatsApp and Viber. | The government temporarily blocked several networks, including Facebook and Instagram. Users also reported being unable to access the messaging services WhatsApp and Viber. |
| Though Sunday’s attacks have no known link to social media, Sri Lanka has a history with violence incited on the platforms. The ban was an extraordinary step that reflected growing global concerns about social media. | Though Sunday’s attacks have no known link to social media, Sri Lanka has a history with violence incited on the platforms. The ban was an extraordinary step that reflected growing global concerns about social media. |