Page 110 - War Conflict
Sri Lanka Police hunt for six after suicide bombings
The Sri Lanka Police on Thursday released photographs of six young suspects - three males and three females - wanted in connection with the Easter Sunday suicide bombings.
Sri Lankan Defence Secretary quits over Easter bombings
Sri Lankan Defence Secretary Hemasiri Fernando resigned on Thursday, accepting responsibility for failing to prevent the Easter Sunday suicide bombings that killed 359 people.
Goa churches to hold prayers for Sri Lanka victims
The Roman Catholic Church in Goa has requested churches across the coastal state to hold special prayer services for the victims of the blasts in Sri Lanka on Easter Sunday, Archbishop Filipe Neri Ferrao said on Thursday.
Sri Lanka suicide bomber was earlier arrested but released
One of the Sri Lankan suicide bombers was previously arrested by police and then released, a senior government official said on Thursday.
Lankan Islamist extremist group may have planned Easter attacks for 7-8 years: Field Marshal Fonseka
The Islamist extremist group behind the deadly Easter Sunday blasts in Sri Lanka would have been planning the suicide attacks for "at least 7 to 8 years" and could be led by someone having the calibre of slain LTTE supremo Velupillai Prabakaran, according to Field Marshal Sarath Fonseka. Speaking during the emergency debate in Parliament, Fonseka, who led the Sri Lankan military that vanquished the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam in 2009, was quoted by the media as saying that the Easter attacks were a long planned one. "It took 12 years for the LTTE to carry out a suicide attack on the then Defence Minister Ranjan Wijeyaratne. Therefore, these people must have planned the recent attack at least seven to eight years ago," he said on Wednesday. "The LTTE's terrorism was markedly different as it was an organisation fighting to divide the country. Its motives were political, whereas this group is pushing a religious agenda," the 68-year-old Field Marshal said, apparently referring to ...
India had shared actionable inputs with Lanka before blasts: Rajnath
Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh has said Indian authorities shared "actionable" intelligence with Sri Lanka before the serial blasts rocked the neighbouring country. Nearly 360 people were killed in the Easter Sunday bombings in the island nation. "Desired and actionable inputs were shared with the authorities in Sri Lanka prior to the blasts. But unfortunately, they (plotters) succeeded," Singh told PTI. Asked if Sri Lanka failed to act on those inputs, he said it is not a question of blaming that country's government for it. Nine suicide bombers, believed to be members of local Islamist extremist group named National Thowheed Jamath (NTJ), carried out the series of blasts that tore through three churches and three luxury hotels. However, the NTJ has not claimed responsibility for the attacks. According to officials, intelligence inputs about a possible terror attack in Sri Lanka, targeting the Indian High Commission, were shared by Indian agencies with their counterparts in the ...
Goa Church to hold special prayers for Lanka blasts victims
The Goa Church will organise special prayers on Sunday to express solidarity with the victims of the serial blasts in Sri Lanka and their kin. In a statement released here on Thursday, Fr Filipe Neri Ferrao, Archbishop of Goa and Daman, condemned the "most unwarranted and senseless" terrorist attacks in Sri Lanka. Nine Suicide bombers carried out a series of devastating blasts that tore through three churches and three luxury hotels in Sri Lanka on the Easter Sunday. Nearly 360 people were killed in the attacks. "We are all well aware by now of the multiple bomb blasts that took place in Sri Lanka on Easter Sunday, targeting churches and hotels and leaving scores of innocent human beings dead, many of whom had gathered to celebrate the greatest Feast of Life, life that was brought to us by Jesus, through His triumph over death and evil," the archbishop said. "We need to pray for those who were most affected by them (attacks): the souls of the deceased, some of them ...
Lanka blast suspect had links with IS module in India
Zahran Hashim, a radical Tamil-speaking cleric who is believed to have masterminded the Sri Lanka blasts which left over 350 people dead and around 500 injured on Easter Sunday, was in "direct and regular" touch with some Islamic State sympathizers in Southern India for over three years and was instrumental in forming a "pro-IS module", sources said.
Sri Lanka bomber had visa in Australia: Aussie PM
Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison has confirmed that one of the suicide bombers involved in the Sri Lankan bombings spent time in Australia, Nine News Australia said on Thursday.
SL military gets sweeping powers to protect religious places
Nearly 4,000 military personnel with sweeping police powers to arrest suspects were on Thursday tasked to provide security to churches and other religious places across Sri Lanka in the wake of the Easter Sunday bombings.
3 suspects arrested with 21 hand grenades, six swords in Lanka
Sri Lankan police on Thursday arrested three suspects and seized 21 hand grenades and six swords during a raid here following the Easter Sunday bombings that left nearly 360 people dead. The Colombo Crime Division (CCD) and the Special Task Force (STF) personnel carried out the raid in Modara area of the city and arrested three suspects, the Daily Mirror reported. They also seized a van, 21 locally made low powerful hand grenades and six swords. The CCD officials are conducting further investigations. The Lankan authorities Thursday intensified their raids with the help of the army and arrested 16 more suspects in connection with the Easter suicide attacks, taking the total number of suspects under police custody to over 70. Sri Lanka's government has blamed the attacks on three Catholic churches and three luxury hotels on an Islamist extremist group National Tawheed Jamath (NTJ). The Islamic State group has claimed responsibility for the attacks, but the government has blamed the
Sri Lanka bans drones, searches for suspects after mayhem (3rd Lead)
A minor explosion occurred on Thursday in the Sri Lankan capital's outskirts even as security forces continued a search for accomplices of suicide bombers who on Easter Sunday killed and injured hundreds.
Father of 2 Lanka suicide bombers arrested on suspicion of aiding and abetting sons
A Sri Lankan spice tycoon, the father of two of the suspected Easter suicide bombers, was arrested Thursday on suspicion of aiding and abetting his sons carry out the deadly terror attacks that left nearly 360 people dead. Spice merchant Mohamed Yusuf Ibrahim's two sons - identified as Ilham Ahmed Ibrahim and Imsath Ahmed Ibrahim - allegedly detonated their explosives at the Shangri-La and the Cinnamon Grand hotels on Sunday. Police are holding the brothers' father on suspicion of "aiding and abetting" his sons, the CNN reported. According to media reports, investigators are also searching the spice trader's mansion in Colombo - which was the site of the eighth blast - for evidence of the attacks. Three police officers were killed in the blast at the mansion. Elder brother Ilham, who detonated a device at the Cinnamon Grand Hotel, was previously arrested by police and then released, a Sri Lankan government spokesman told CNN. The majority of the Easter Sunday suicide bombers were from
Three suspects arrested with hand grenades in SL
Police in Sri Lanka on Thursday arrested three suspects during a raid in Colombo and seized 21 hand grenades, six swords and a van.
Sri Lanka keeps visa-on-arrival programme on hold
Sri Lanka's Tourism Ministry said on Thursday that it has kept its new visa-on-arrival programme on hold until further notice due to the security situation in the island nation following the Easter Sunday bombings.
Climate protesters block London Stock Exchange
Environmental activist group Extinction Rebellion blocked the entrance to the London Stock Exchange on Thursday as climate change protests continued in the British capital.
Israel tells citizens to leave Sri Lanka over 'concrete threat'
Israel on Thursday urged its citizens travelling in Sri Lanka to leave the country, citing an "elevated concrete threat" following deadly Easter bombings there. The recommendation from Israel's counter-terrorism bureau said the travel warning was issued after consultations with security and foreign ministry officials. It said it was issuing the warning "in view of the deterioration in the security situation and the fear that the events have not yet ended or that there is a chance of their recurrence in the near future". Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has offered aid to Sri Lankan authorities in the wake of the attacks which saw suicide bombers blow themselves up in luxury hotels and churches packed with Easter Sunday worshippers, killing nearly 360 people Thousands of Sri Lankan troops have joined the hunt for suspects. Dozens of foreigners were among the victims of the blasts, including three children of a Danish billionaire, eight Britons, 10 Indians and four ...
Spice tycoon suspected of helping sons in suicide attacks
Police are holding the father of two Sri Lankan suicide bombers on suspicion of aiding and abetting his sons to carry out Easter Sunday attacks that have left at least 359 people dead.
China and Russia to hold joint navy drills next week
China said Thursday that it will hold joint naval drills with Russia next week, in another sign that the countries' militaries are growing closer. The drills will be held off the northern port city of Qingdao, Defense Ministry spokesman Ren Guoqiang said at a monthly briefing. Taking place from Monday to Saturday, they will feature ships and submarines along with fixed-wing aircraft, helicopters and marine units. Bonded by a common rivalry with the U.S., Moscow and Beijing have forged what they describe as a "strategic partnership," expressing their shared opposition to the "unipolar" world a term they use to describe perceived US global dominance. Last September, about 3,200 Chinese troops joined Russia's largest-ever war games in Siberia, in which nearly 300,000 Russian troops conducted drills. China's People's Liberation Army Navy marked its 70th anniversary this week with a fleet review attended by President Xi Jinping, who is also head of the armed forces and has expanded the ...
Two killed, one injured as two motorcycles collide in UP
Two persons were killed and one other injured when the motorcycles they were riding collided near Naudad village here Thursday, police said. The deceased were identified as 7-year-old Aham of Uttargaon village and Shamim Khan (28), a resident of Gaderi, they said. The injured, Satyam, who is Aham's uncle, was referred to another hospital in Lucknow, police added.