On the 26th of April, Sri Lankan soldiers conducted a series of raids across the island country. Beginning on Friday night, the soldiers killed 4 people allegedly connected to the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria. Furthermore, 15 people were also killed in the crossfire, including 6 children.
A local resident was also killed during the gunfire. The gunfight began late Friday night near Sainthamaruthu in Ampara, after soldiers were tipped off by the police about an ISIS safe house.
Sri Lankan authorities are on the lookout for 140 people linked to ISIS. With security at an all time high, the Government deployed nearly 10,000 soldiers to look for members of the terrorist group which claimed responsibility for the bombings in the Country on Easter.
Through the entire day on the 26th, the security forces conducted searches and made arrests where they thought fit. President Maithripala Sirisena said, out of the 140 people allegedly responsible for the attacks, locals were involved as well. He further said, 70 out of the 140 people were already arrested and the police took into custody several explosives and weapons related to the bombings.
While the ISIS hasn’t provided any physical evidence regarding its hand in the attacks, it released a video showing 8 people standing in front of the black flag of ISIS. If the claim does turn out to be true, this could be one of the worst attacks carried out by the ISIS outside Syria and Iraq.
Fearing more attacks of this kind, the Sri Lankan Government asked for the cancellation of all Muslim prayers and Catholic masses till the situation calms down. The authorities asked the Muslim community in Sri Lanka to worship in the safety of their homes rather than to attend communal prayers on Friday.
On the 25th of April, the officials of Sri Lanka released a statement, saying the death toll was approximately 253 and not 359, which was the original estimate.
Stay tuned for more updates.
