Colombo: Introducing a tough new legislation to eliminate jihadism and extremism from Sri Lanka is the government’s top priority, Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe has said in the aftermath of country’s worst terror attacks on Easter Sunday.
The deadly attacks could have been prevented if the new Counter Terrorism Bill, which provides for territorial jurisdiction, was passed in Parliament without delay, he said on Sunday after joining the Sunday Mass in Colombo and the mass at the Saint Anthony’s church in Kochchikade, a week after the deadly suicide bombing killed over 250 people.
Introducing legislation against extremism is a priority for the government and new laws will be introduced to eliminate jihadism from the country, Wickremesinghe was quoted as saying by the Colombo Page.
“We have included this provision in the new Counter Terrorism Bill. However, it is stuck in Parliament for months. The Easter Sunday attacks could have been prevented if this legislation was passed,” he said.
The Islamic State claimed the attacks, but the government has blamed local Islamist extremist group National Thowheeth Jamaath (NTJ) for the attacks.
Wickremesinghe reiterated that defence authorities should have acted upon the warnings given by intelligence units.
Inputs by intelligence on buddhist temple attacks
Female bombers posing as devotees may have been planning to attack Sri Lanka’s Buddhist temples after authorities seized white clothes from a house that was raided following Easter Sunday blasts, a media report said on Monday.
The Sri Lankan intelligence agency has received inputs of possible attacks on Buddhist temples by female bombers of the banned local terror outfit National Thawheeth Jamath (NTJ) after police found white pairs of skirts and blouses from the house which was raided after the explosion in Sainthamuruthu area in the Eastern province, raising suspicion that the attackers might pose as Buddhist devotees, the Daily Mirror reported.
On March 29, Muslim women had spent 29,000 Sri Lankan rupees (USD 166) to purchase nine sets of such clothes from a textile shop in Giriulla, the report said.
The CCTV footage of the shop shows the visuals of these women who purchased clothes from the shop.
So far, five sets of white clothes have been found from this house and intelligence services are trying to find the remaining clothes.
The shootout occurred as the security forces continued their hunt for members of the NTJ. (PTI)