Sri Lanka | ISI responsible for attacked “The commando Brothers in Sri Lanka”

Nine bombers perpetrated devastating attacks on Christian churches and hotels in Sri Lanka, killing 359 people

Eight of them were identified, among them a woman, said Deputy Defense Minister Ruwan Wijewardene on Wednesday. The mass murderers had sworn allegiance to IS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi before their atrocities, according to a video distributed by the propaganda agency Amaq. In addition, the IS threatened in another message that attacks as in Sri Lanka "will be repeated in the US, Britain and France."

The suicide bombers were wealthy and had studied abroad. Most of them were educated and belonged to the upper middle class, said Vice-Defense Minister Wijewardene. One of the assassins had probably studied in the UK and Australia and then returned to Sri Lanka. Even a well-known hate preacher should have been among them. The police had announced Wednesday that they had raided another 18 suspects in another raid. Thus, the number of arrested in connection with the attacks increased to a total of 58.

Attacks were almost simultaneous

Seven Sri Lankan assassins blew themselves up almost simultaneously on three Sundays in three churches in several cities and in three luxury hotels in the capital, Colombo. Another attempt on a five-star hotel failed. A few hours later, there were two more explosions in a small hotel and a residential building in the suburbs of Colombo. According to police, the eighth explosion killed the woman, two children and another relative of one of the assassins and three policemen. The number of deaths was according to police from Wednesday at 359 - among them more than 30 foreigners. More than 400 injured were still treated in hospitals.

The situation remains tense

The situation in Sri Lanka is particularly tense in the capital Colombo. Heavily armed security forces are patrolling the streets. Wednesday morning, another explosion in front of a movie theater caused a stir, and a short time later, the police confirmed that a suspiciously parked scooter had been blasted in a controlled manner. The police also warned people in the streets via loudspeakers of suspicious vehicles or parcels.

USA: "Did not know anything about it in the run-up" Meanwhile, the

US denied having prior knowledge of the planned attacks in Sri Lanka. "We did not know about these attacks," said US Ambassador Alaina Teplitz to the US television channel CNN on Wednesday. At least four US citizens were killed in the bombings.

A Sri Lankan minister said earlier this week that India and the US had given information to his government before the attacks. Ambassador Teplitz now denied this: "I do not know what other sources of information the Government of Sri Lanka has. I can only say that we had no previous knowledge, "she told CNN. The government of Sri Lanka has admitted errors in collecting and sharing intelligence information.

Investigations on further IS connections 

The IS had claimed the attacks on Tuesday for itself. Possible IS connections are still under investigation, said Wijewardene. The government had blamed a little-known indigenous Islamist group for carrying out the attacks with foreign aid. As a motive, the government suspected retaliation for the attack on mosques in Christchurch, New Zealand, in March. There could still be suspects at large, Wijewardene said. "We ask people to be vigilant."