At least 15 dead in an operation against ISIS terrorists in Sri Lanka

At least 15 people, including six children, died Saturday morning in a one-hour shootout between Sri Lankan security forces and suspected ISIS terrorists, less than a week after the suicide attacks that killed 253 people on Easter Sunday.

At a time when the army and the police were trying to break into what, according to their information, was a hiding place of the ISIS group in Kalmunai (east), three men sacrificed themselveskilling three women and six children.

To these deaths add "three other men" found dead in front of the house, also suspected to be suicide bombers, police added.

"There are about 140 people in Sri Lanka related to the Islamic State"

The tension is still high in this country of 21 million inhabitants and at least 74 people were arrested of Sunday.

For safety reasons, Catholic churches were closed until further notice and some mosques have canceled the Friday prayer. In those that took place, the presence was not great and the prayer was performed as part of strict security measures.

"We now have information that there are about 140 people in Sri Lanka related to the Islamic State; we can and we will eliminate them all very quickly, "President Maithripala Sirisena said Friday, announcing a law banning Islamist groups.

On Friday, police said they seized 150 sticks of dynamite and a flag of the Employment Insurance group during a search in Sammanthurai, a nearby town. According to investigators, the video recording of the confirmation of the attacks on Easter Sunday would have been recorded there.

The leader of the terrorist group died in the attacks

According to President Sirisena, the group leader accused of jihadist attacks of Easter he died in one of the attacks against churches and luxury hotels last Sunday.

Zahran Hashim, whom the police had been searching for five days, was at the head of the National Thowheeth Jama & ath (NTJ), a local jihadist movement that Colombo has accused of perpetrating the attacks. Zahran Hashim committed suicide bombing against the hotel Shangri La in the capital with a second suicide bombing, said the president.

Hashim appeared in a video claiming the mbadacre perpetrated by the Islamic State, in which he was seen leading seven men under oath of allegiance to the head of the jihadist group, Abu Bakr al Bagdadi.

An alert issued on 11 April by the police chief, in which he warned that the NTJ had prepared attacks, was never communicated to the prime minister or senior ministers in a context of struggle. for power between the head of government Ranil Wickemesinghe and President Sirisena, also Minister of the Interior and Defense.

Prime Minister Wickremesinghe apologized Friday night on Twitter on behalf of the government: "We take our collective responsibility and we apologize to our fellow citizens for our failure to protect the victims of these tragic events."

Attacks could make national tourism sector Stop earning up to $ 1,500 million this yearannounced the minister of finance of the island.

Sri Lanka, a country known for its idyllic beaches and nature, recorded in 2018 a record of 2.33 million tourists. By 2019, I was expecting tourism revenue of $ 5,000 million, up from 4,400 last year.