President Maithripala Sirisena has been extending the emergency on 22nd of each month since April 21 attacks on 3 hotels and 3 churches.

Sri Lanka's parliament is currently investigating security lapses that led to the Easter attacks despite intelligence warnings. (Photo: File)

Colombo: Sri Lanka has ended a four-month state of emergency declared after Easter suicide bombings by Islamist extremists that killed 258 people, officials said Friday.

President Maithripala Sirisena has been extending the emergency on the 22nd of each month since the April 21 attacks on three hotels and three churches. However, his office confirmed that Sirisena had not extended it for another term and thereby allowed the emergency to end on Thursday.

"The President did not issue a fresh proclamation extending the emergency by a further period," an official source said. The official government printer also confirmed that there was no notification reimposing the state of emergency, which gives sweeping powers to police and security forces to arrest and detain suspects for long periods.

The government used the emergency as it tightened security across the country and hunted members of a local jihadist group which was held responsible for the attacks and which claimed allegiance to the Islamic State group.

Police have said that all those directly responsible for the suicide bombings have either been killed or arrested. This week Tourism Minister John Amaratunga said he had asked the president to relax the draconian law to signal to foreign holidaymakers that the situation in the country was back to normal. Sri Lanka's parliament is currently investigating security lapses that led to the Easter attacks despite intelligence warnings.

Sirisena himself has been accused of failing to act on precise Indian intelligence that jihadists were about to hit Christian churches and other targets in Sri Lanka. A parliamentary public inquiry has been told Sirisena -- who is also the minister of defence and law and order -- failed to follow proper national security protocols.

The mainly Buddhist nation of 21 million people was about to mark a decade since ending a 37-year-long Tamil separatist war when the Islamist extremists struck. </s> COLOMBO: Sri Lanka has ended a four-month state of emergency declared after Easter suicide bombings by Islamist extremists that killed 258 people, officials said on Friday.

President Maithripala Sirisena has been extending the emergency on the 22nd of each month since the April 21 attacks on three hotels and three churches. However, his office confirmed that Sirisena had not extended it for another term and thereby allowed the emergency to end on Thursday.

"The president did not issue a fresh proclamation extending the emergency by a further period," an official source said. The official government printer also confirmed that there was no notification reimposing the state of emergency, which gives sweeping powers to police and security forces to arrest and detain suspects for long periods.

The government used the emergency as it tightened security across the country and hunted members of a local jihadist group which was held responsible for the attacks and which claimed allegiance to the Islamic State group.

Police have said that all those directly responsible for the suicide bombings have either been killed or arrested. This week Tourism Minister John Amaratunga said he had asked the president to relax the draconian law to signal to foreign holidaymakers that the situation in the country was back to normal.

Sri Lanka’s parliament is currently investigating security lapses that led to the Easter attacks despite intelligence warnings. Sirisena himself has been accused of failing to act on precise Indian intelligence that jihadists were about to hit Christian churches and other targets in Sri Lanka. </s> Sri Lanka’s minister of tourism says 39 foreign tourists were killed in the Easter Sunday attacks

Sri Lankan air force officers and clergy stand outside St. Anthony’s Shrine, a day after a blast in Colombo, Sri Lanka, Monday, April 22, 2019. Easter Sunday bombings of churches, luxury hotels and other sites was Sri Lanka’s deadliest violence since a devastating civil war in the South Asian island nation ended a decade ago. (AP Photo/Gemunu Amarasinghe)

Sri Lanka’s president has given the military sweeping war-time powers to arrest and detain suspects following a series of Easter Sunday bombings that killed at least 290 people.

President Maithripala Sirisena’s office announced late Monday that the measure would take effect at midnight. In addition, a government curfew was to begin at 8 p.m.

On Monday, armed security personnel stood guard on street corners in central Colombo that were largely deserted, with most shops closed.

Provisions that granted police powers to the military had been withdrawn at the end of Sri Lanka’s civil war, which ended in 2009.

Sri Lanka’s minister of tourism says 39 foreign tourists were killed in the Easter Sunday attacks on churches and hotels, while another 28 were wounded.

John Amaratunga says his ministry is working closely with the ministry of foreign affairs and local diplomatic missions to “ensure formalities with regard to the victims are sorted out as quickly as possible.”

In Monday’s statement he added, “The government has already offered assistance to all victims, the damaged places of worship as well as the hotels affected by Sunday’s attacks.”

He said Sri Lanka’s tourism industry and the government was doing everything possible to ensure the safety of those in the country.

A total of nine bombings Sunday killed at least 290 people and wounded about 500 more.

Pope Francis is asking everyone to join him in condemning the “inhuman” Easter Sunday bombings in Sri Lanka.

Greeting faithful in St. Peter’s Square on Monday, Francis also invited prayers for the victims of the attacks, including at least 290 dead and some 500 wounded.

The pope said, “I hope everyone condemns these inhuman and never justified terrorist acts.”

Expressing his fraternal closeness to the people of Sri Lanka, Francis encouraged people not to hesitate to offer all necessary assistance in the wake of the nine bombings, which devastated three churches during Easter services and three hotels filled with tourists.

A day earlier, after celebrating Easter Mass in the square, Francis had expressed his sorrow and dismay over the attacks.

A van parked near a Sri Lankan church that was bombed on Easter Sunday has exploded, but no injuries have been reported.

Police went to inspect the van Monday after people reported it had been parked near St. Anthony’s Shrine since Sunday.

They discovered three bombs that they tried to defuse. Instead, the bombs detonated, sending pedestrians fleeing in panic.

A series of bombings Sunday killed at least 290 people, including at least 27 foreigners. About 500 others were wounded in the blasts.

Officials said 24 suspects are in custody for questioning

Sri Lankan authorities say they’ve found 87 bomb detonators in the capital, Colombo.

Police spokesman Ruwan Gunasekaran said police found 12 detonators scattered at Colombo’s main bus depot on Monday and hours later found another 75 detonators at a garbage dump in the same area.

No arrests have been made and investigations are ongoing.

Gunasekara declined to say whether the detonators were linked to a series of bombs that rocked churches, hotels and other sites on Sunday, killing at least 290 people.

Danish media are saying that three of the four children of a Danish business tycoon who is allegedly the Nordic country’s richest man and a major private landowner in Britain died in the Sri Lanka bombings.

Danish broadcaster TV2 Monday cited information it received from the Bestseller clothing chain, of which Anders Holch Povlsen is the sole owner. The company didn’t provide any further information “out of respect to the family.”

Swedish newspaper Aftonbladet said the 46-year-old Holch Povlsen and his wife, Anne Holch Povlsen, were vacationing in Sri Lanka with their children.

Holch Povlsen is Britain’s second-largest and Scotland’s-largest private landowner and the biggest shareholder in fashion retailer ASOS.com.

The Danish foreign ministry confirmed that three Danish citizens were killed in the Sri Lankan attacks, which claimed over 200 lives.

Sri Lanka’s top diplomat in Britain says authorities know of eight British nationals killed in the Easter Sunday bomb attacks on churches and hotels in and around Colombo.

High Commissioner to the UK Manisha Gunasekera told BBC Monday that “as of now” it is believed eight British nationals died. She said the investigation is moving “very swiftly.”

British officials have said only that some Britons died. They have not provided information on the number of British casualties. More details are expected to emerge later Monday.

A Sri Lankan government official says a local militant group named National Thowfeek Jamaath is responsible for the Easter Sunday suicide bombings.

Health Minister Rajitha Senaratne said at a news conference Monday that all seven bombers linked to the near-simultaneous attacks on three churches and three luxury hotels in and around Colombo were Sri Lankan citizens.

Officials say the causes of three later bombings on Sunday are still being investigated.

He said that while the group is domestic, foreign links are suspected.

A total of nine bombings Sunday killed at least 290 people including at least 27 foreigners. About 500 others were wounded in the blasts.

Officials said 24 suspects are in custody for questioning.

Australia’s prime minister says two Australian citizens died and another two were injured in the Sri Lankan bomb blasts.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison says the two Australians killed were from the same family and lived in Sri Lanka. One was a dual citizen.

Morrison says two other dual citizens were injured but are in stable conditions. He says one is being treated for shrapnel wounds and the other has a broken leg.

Australia has advised its citizens to reconsider their need to travel to Sri Lanka, the second highest security alert.

Most of the 290 dead were Sri Lankan but the government has confirmed at least 27 foreigners among the dead. The United States, India, Britain, China, Japan and Portugal have confirmed their nationals were among the dead.

A Sri Lankan government forensic crime analyst tells The Associated Press that the six near-simultaneous attacks on three churches and three luxury hotels in and around Colombo on Easter Sunday were carried out by seven suicide bombers.

The government analyst Ariyananda Welianga says an analysis of the attackers’ body parts collected from the scenes shows that the attacks were suicide bombings.

Welianga says two people were involved in the attack at the Shangri-La hotel. One bomber each attacked the Cinnamon Grand and Kingsbury hotels and St. Anthony’s Shrine in Colombo, St. Sebastian’s church in the city of Negombo and Zion Church in the city of Batticaloa.

Two bombings hours later at a guesthouse and near an overpass on the outskirts of Colombo are still under investigation. Suspects detonated explosives at a safe house near the overpass blast, killing three officers.

All told, more than 200 people were killed and 500 wounded in the nine attacks.

A second Chinese citizen has been confirmed killed in the Easter Sunday bombings in Sri Lanka.

Xinhua news agency cited the Chinese Embassy in Colombo as confirming the fatality. The report said the number of injuries among Chinese was still being confirmed. The United States, Britain, India and other countries have also confirmed their citizens were among the 290 dead.

China has extensive business ties with Sri Lanka and is sending growing numbers of business people, tourists and workers to the island.

Both Chinese President Xi Jinping and Premier Li Keqiang have sent condolences and said they firmly support the Sri Lankan government’s effort to maintain security and stability, according to Xinhua.

A Sri Lanka military spokesman says that an explosive device was found and defused late Easter Sunday on an access road to the international airport near Colombo.

The discovery came after nine bomb attacks shook Colombo and its outskirts, targeting churches where worshippers were celebrating Easter, luxury hotels frequented by tourists and other sites.

Air Force Group Captain Gihan Seneviratne said Monday that authorities found a “homemade” pipe bomb filled with 50 kilograms (110 pounds) of explosives Sunday night in Andiambalama, near the airport.

It’s not clear what kind of detonation method or target was planned, but Seneviratne said the bomb was large enough to have caused damage to a 400-meter (400-yard) radius.

Sunday’s bombings killed 290 people and wounded about 500 more.

The United Nations secretary-general is expressing condolences over the Sri Lankan bombings on Easter Sunday.

The statement issued by spokesman Stephane Dujarric said Secretary-General Antonio Guterres was outraged by the terrorist attacks on churches and hotels on a “sacred day for Christians around the world” and hoped the perpetrators will be swiftly brought to justice.

He said Sri Lanka had the support and solidarity of the United Nations in its difficult moment.

The bombings killed 290 people and were Sri Lanka’s deadliest violence since a devastating civil war ended a decade ago.

Police say the death toll from the Easter Sunday bombings in Sri Lanka has increased to 290.

Police spokesman Ruwan Gunasekara also said Monday more than 500 people had been wounded.

The nine bombings of churches, luxury hotels and other sites was Sri Lanka’s deadliest violence since a devastating civil war ended a decade ago.

Indian officials say five Indians were killed in Sunday’s Sri Lanka bombings.

The external affairs minister and the Indian High Commission in Sri Lanka identified the five victims in a series of tweets.

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi also spoke to Sri Lankan leaders and condemned the blasts. Modi tweeted, “There is no place for such barbarism in our region. India stands in solidarity with the people of Sri Lanka.”

Sri Lankan authorities have said at least 27 of the more than 200 dead were foreigners. The United States said several were Americans but didn’t give a figure. Japan has confirmed one dead. Sri Lanka’s foreign ministry says one Portuguese, two Turkish nationals, three British nationals and two holding U.S. and British nationalities were among the dead.

Sri Lankan authorities have lifted a curfew that was in place overnight following Easter Sunday bombings that killed more than 200 people.

The streets in the capital, Colombo, were largely deserted Monday morning, with most shops closed and a heavy deployment of soldiers and police. Stunned clergy and onlookers gathered at St. Anthony’s Shrine, looking past the soldiers to the damaged church that was targeted in one of the blasts.

The nine bombings of churches, luxury hotels and other sites was Sri Lanka’s deadliest violence since a devastating civil war ended a decade ago. Police the death toll, which was 207 late Sunday, had risen overnight but the figure wasn’t immediately released.

Police in Sri Lanka say the investigation into the Easter Sunday bombings will examine reports that the intelligence community failed to detect or warn of possible suicide attacks before the violence.

The nine bombings of churches, luxury hotels and other sites was Sri Lanka’s deadliest violence since a devastating civil war in the South Asian island nation ended a decade ago. Police spokesman Ruwan Gunasekara said Monday the death toll, which was 207 late Sunday, had risen overnight but the figure wasn’t immediately released.

Two government ministers have alluded to intelligence failures. Police spokesman Ruwan Gunasekara said Monday that the Criminal Investigation Department investigating the blasts will look into the reports.

Defence Minister Ruwan Wijewardena previously described the blasts as a terrorist attack by religious extremists.

Like us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter. </s> COLOMBO, Sri Lanka (AP) - The Latest on explosions in Sri Lanka on Easter Sunday (all times local):

The United Nations secretary-general is expressing condolences over the Sri Lankan bombings on Easter Sunday.

The statement issued by spokesman Stephane Dujarric said Secretary-General Antonio Guterres was outraged by the terrorist attacks on churches and hotels on a “sacred day for Christians around the world” and hoped the perpetrators will be swiftly brought to justice.

He said Sri Lanka had the support and solidarity of the United Nations in its difficult moment.

The bombings killed 290 people and were Sri Lanka’s deadliest violence since a devastating civil war ended a decade ago.

Police say the death toll from the Easter Sunday bombings in Sri Lanka has increased to 290.

Police spokesman Ruwan Gunasekara also said Monday more than 500 people had been wounded.

The nine bombings of churches, luxury hotels and other sites was Sri Lanka’s deadliest violence since a devastating civil war ended a decade ago.

Indian officials say five Indians were killed in Sunday’s Sri Lanka bombings.

The external affairs minister and the Indian High Commission in Sri Lanka identified the five victims in a series of tweets.

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi also spoke to Sri Lankan leaders and condemned the blasts. Modi tweeted, “There is no place for such barbarism in our region. India stands in solidarity with the people of Sri Lanka.”

Sri Lankan authorities have said at least 27 of the more than 200 dead were foreigners. The United States said several were Americans but didn’t give a figure. Japan has confirmed one dead. Sri Lanka’s foreign ministry says one Portuguese, two Turkish nationals, three British nationals and two holding U.S. and British nationalities were among the dead.

Sri Lankan authorities have lifted a curfew that was in place overnight following Easter Sunday bombings that killed more than 200 people.

The streets in the capital, Colombo, were largely deserted Monday morning, with most shops closed and a heavy deployment of soldiers and police. Stunned clergy and onlookers gathered at St. Anthony’s Shrine, looking past the soldiers to the damaged church that was targeted in one of the blasts.

The nine bombings of churches, luxury hotels and other sites was Sri Lanka’s deadliest violence since a devastating civil war ended a decade ago. Police the death toll, which was 207 late Sunday, had risen overnight but the figure wasn’t immediately released.

Police in Sri Lanka say the investigation into the Easter Sunday bombings will examine reports that the intelligence community failed to detect or warn of possible suicide attacks before the violence.

The nine bombings of churches, luxury hotels and other sites was Sri Lanka’s deadliest violence since a devastating civil war in the South Asian island nation ended a decade ago. Police spokesman Ruwan Gunasekara said Monday the death toll, which was 207 late Sunday, had risen overnight but the figure wasn’t immediately released.

Two government ministers have alluded to intelligence failures. Police spokesman Ruwan Gunasekara said Monday that the Criminal Investigation Department investigating the blasts will look into the reports.

Defense Minister Ruwan Wijewardena previously described the blasts as a terrorist attack by religious extremists. </s> The Latest: New Zealand says it has not seen Sri Lanka link

COLOMBO, Sri Lanka (AP) — The Latest on the Easter attacks in Sri Lanka (all times local):

New Zealand's Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern says she hasn't received any official advice from Sri Lanka or seen any intelligence reports to corroborate claims from Sri Lanka's government that the Easter attacks were in retaliation for the mosque massacres in Christchurch last month.

Ardern told reporters in Auckland that Sri Lanka is in the early stages of its investigation, and that New Zealand plans to stand back and allow it to proceed. She said she hadn't been in direct contact with Sri Lanka, although officials from the two countries were in contact.

Sri Lanka's State Minister of Defense Ruwan Wijewardene said earlier the government had evidence the bombings were carried out by an Islamic fundamentalist group in retaliation for the March 15 mosque shootings in Christchurch that killed 50 people.

The U.S. Embassy in Sri Lanka says the FBI is on the ground in the country to help assist its investigation into the Easter suicide bombings that killed 359 people.

The embassy said it was part of the support extended by President Trump.

The embassy in Colombo declined to immediately elaborate.

Police say the death toll in the Easter attacks in Sri Lanka has risen to 359 and more suspects have been arrested.

Police spokesman Ruwan Gunasekara also said Wednesday morning that 18 suspects were arrested overnight, raising the total detained to 58.

The prime minister warned on Tuesday that several suspects armed with explosives were still at large.

Another top government official said the suicide bombings at the churches, hotels and other sites were carried out by Islamic fundamentalists in apparent retaliation for the New Zealand mosque massacre last month.

The Islamic State group has claimed responsibility for the Sri Lanka attacks and released images that purported to show the attackers. Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe said that investigators were still determining the extent of the bombers' foreign links. </s> Sri Lanka has officially ended four months of emergency rule imposed after a series of suicide attacks that killed more than 260 people, left the government in disarray and raised fears of renewed ethnic tensions in the island-nation.

President Maithripala Sirisena allowed the emergency rule, which was put in place shortly after the April 21 bombings, to lapse by not signing a decree that would extend it for another month.

He had previously extended the order on the 22nd of every month following the massacres that happened when suicide bombers attacked three churches and three hotels around the capital, Colombo, and the eastern town of Batticaloa on Easter Sunday.

"The minister of defence will not extend the state of emergency," the official government news portal tweeted on Friday.

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The emergency laws gave the military and police sweeping powers to arrest and detain suspects without court orders. Critics charge it has been used to unfairly target Muslim citizens.

Hundreds have been arrested since April as the government used the emergency order, as well as curfews and social media blackouts, to tighten security across the country and hunt members of two local Muslim groups it said were responsible for the attacks.

Those groups had claimed allegiance to the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL or ISIS), although a Sri Lankan investigator said in July that the groups were inspired, but not directly linked, to ISIL.

Sri Lankan authorities say all those directly responsible for the suicide bombings have either been killed or arrested.

A return to normal?

The end of emergency rule signifies a perceived calm returning to the country, which relies heavily on its $4.4bn tourism industry that has suffered since April. Several foreigners were killed in the bombings, which also wounded at least 500 people.

Tourist arrivals had slumped by 70 percent in May and 57 percent in June, compared with the previous year.

Earlier in the week, John Amaratunga, the tourism minister, had asked the president to relax the emergency law in hopes of signalling to foreign holidaymakers that the situation in the country was back to normal, according to the AFP news agency.

The government and the country's security apparatus remain in disarray since April, with accusations that officials did not act upon near-specific intelligence from foreign agencies before.

A parliamentary committee is investigating who was responsible for not taking the timely action.

In July, authorities arrested Inspector General of Police Pujith Jayasundara and former Secretary to the Ministry of Defence Hemasiri Fernando over allegations they failed to prevent the attacks.

Opponents have accused Sirisena of failing to act on precise Indian intelligence that attackers were about to hit Christian churches and other targets in Sri Lanka.

The country is set to hold a presidential election later this year.

The tensions have buoyed support for Nandasena Gotabaya Rajapaksa, the brother of former President Mahinda Rajapaksa, who is planning to run on a platform of restoring national security.

Gotabaya had been accused of war crimes committed during the 26-year-long conflict between the government and Tamil separatists, but is hailed as a hero by many for helping to bring the civil war to an end a decade ago.

Many arrested under emergency order

Military and police have been accused of targeting the country's Muslim minority, activists and politicians under the emergency order, provoking further fear after the bombings threatened to inflame tensions between the majority Buddhist and minority Muslim populations. Muslims make up nearly 10 percent of Sri Lanka's population of 22 million.

In June, a police spokesman told Al Jazeera that 2,289 people - including 1,820 Muslims - had been arrested in "connection to the Easter Bombings and related incidents".

That month, the EU said it was "deeply concerned by the political and religious pressure being directed at Sri Lanka's Muslim community which is undermining peace and reconciliation in the country".

Calls for ethnic violence by hardline Buddhist groups have also been reported across the country.

In May, mobs in the North Western Province destroyed hundreds of Muslims' properties, including shops and mosques, and killed one in what many believed to be retaliation for the April attacks.

In June, all of Sri Lanka's Muslim ministers resigned in protest over the government's failure to ensure the safety of its Muslim citizens. </s> US Embassy says FBI agents on the ground in Sri Lanka assisting investigation in Easter bombing attack

COLOMBO, Sri Lanka (AP) — US Embassy says FBI agents on the ground in Sri Lanka assisting investigation in Easter bombing attack. </s> COLOMBO, Sri Lanka (AP) — Sri Lanka has ended four months of emergency rule imposed after suicide attacks on Easter Sunday killed more than 260 people.

The president's office said President Maithripala Sirisena allowed the emergency rule to lapse by not signing a decree extending it for another month.

The emergency laws gave the military and police sweeping powers to arrest and detain suspects.

Two local Muslim groups have been blamed for the attacks on three churches and three hotels in and around Colombo and the eastern town of Batticaloa.

Seven suicide bombers participated in the attacks. Another committed suicide after his attempt failed, while another killed herself to avoid capture. </s> The Bishops’ Conference of Sri Lanka has called for an “independent and impartial” investigation into the bombings of three churches and three hotels on Easter Sunday. The leaders claim that this investigation must bring about justice for the victims by holding those responsible before the law.

On April 21, Easter Sunday, suicide bombers reportedly supported by ISIS attacked three churches and three luxury hotels in Sri Lanka. As a result, 263 people were kill and another 600 were wounded. Among the dead and wounded were many Sri Lankan Christians who were attacked while celebrating Easter in their churches.

In an open letter, the Bishops’ Conference of Sri Lanka said, “Although various efforts of recovery by the government are appreciable, we wish to repeat that what is most important is to do justice by bringing those responsible before the law rapidly.” Read more
Sri Lanka ends its state of emergency, four months after the Easter bombings.