Sri Lanka PM believes attacks had ISIL links

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Sri Lanka's prime minister said on Tuesday that he believed the recent attacks had links to ISIL.

PM Ranil Wickremesinghe made this remark just hours after ISIL claimed responsibility for the bombings in which more than 300 were killed. The group didn't offer any evidence for the claim.

"We will be following up on ISIL claims, we believe there may be links," he told reporters at a press conference.

Wickremesinghe also said that authorities are making progress in identifying the culprits of the series of bombing attacks and evidence was found on foreign links of the attacks.

It's "possible" that the bombings were because of Christchurch mosque attack, he pointed.

Eight blasts targeting churches and hotels across Sri Lanka on Easter Sunday left at least 310 people dead and about 500 others wounded. A ninth explosive device was successfully defused.

Sri Lanka held a nationwide three-minute silence for the victims which killed in a string of explosions across Sri Lanka, AFP reported on Tuesday.

Nationals from China, the U.S., Denmark, Japan, Pakistan, Morocco, India, and Bangladesh are among the victims, local media reported on Sunday citing Sri Lanka's national hospital spokesperson.

A local group named the "National Thowheed Jamaat" was behind the explosions, Sri Lanka's Health Minister Rajitha Senaratne said at a media briefing on Monday.

Major social media and messaging services, including Facebook and WhatsApp, have been blocked in the country to prevent misinformation.

Source(s): AFP ,Xinhua News Agency