Asia Pacific
14:44, 26-Apr-2019
President: Sri Lanka serial blasts have link to drug trade
Updated
16:12, 26-Apr-2019
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Sri Lankan President Maithripala Sirisena said on Friday that terrorists who carried out the Easter blasts have a link to drug trade.
The president told a press conference in Colombo that the attacks may have been carried out sooner than planned due to his anti-drug campaign.
Sri Lanka's top police official, Inspector General of Police Pujith Jayasundara, has resigned over failures that led to the deadly Easter bomb attacks, the president added.
Speaking of the link between local extremist group and the ISIL group, he said so far Sri Lankan authorities have found out about 140 people were linked to the ISIL group and more than 70 of them had been arrested.
The president said terrorism will be wiped out of Sri Lanka soon. "We will soon restore normalcy. International agencies are here assisting us in the probe," he said.
A string of bombs exploded in hotels and churches across Sri Lanka on Sunday. According to the latest number from Sri Lanka's Health Ministry, the blasts have killed about 250 people.
(With input from Xinhua)