Sri Lanka admits that there has been a significant lack of information

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Sri Lanka admitted that there had been a "serious loss of intelligence" before the Easter Sunday bombings, which left 359 dead and more than 500 wounded.

A warning from Indian intelligence services issued earlier this month regarding scheduled attacks has not been properly communicated to the authorities, said the parliament.

President Maithripala Sirisena overthrew the Secretary of Defense and the Inspector General of Police.

The sister of the alleged leader of the attackers strongly condemned him.

Eight of the nine badailants were identified as Sri Lankan citizens.

The government is investigating whether the Islamic State (IS) group has been involved in attacks on churches and high-end hotels.

It appeared that one of the attackers had studied in the United Kingdom and Australia before returning to Sri Lanka.

How were the authorities mistaken?

"We must badume our responsibilities, because unfortunately, if the sharing of intelligence information had been entrusted to the right people, I think that at least it could have been avoided or even minimized," said the deputy minister of justice. Defense, Ruwan Wijewardene.

Lakshman Kiriella, head of parliament, said senior officials had deliberately concealed information about possible attacks.

"Some senior intelligence officials have hidden intelligence information wisely," he told MPs.

"The information was there, but senior security officials have not taken the appropriate action."

He added that the Indian news bulletin had been received on April 4 but that, according to the Reuters news agency, President and Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe had not received it.

President Sirisena replaced Defense Secretary Hemasiri Fernando and took steps to dismiss Police Inspector General Pujith Jayasundara.

What do we know about attackers?

The whereabouts of the Islamist preacher Zahran Hashim, suspected of being the leader of the suicide bomber attacks, are still unknown.

He appears in a video of the IS but the police do not know whether he blew up one of the suicide bombings or whether he is still on the run.

His sister, Mohammad Hashim Madaniya, told BBC News: "I am only aware of his actions by the media, even for a moment, I never thought he would do such a thing.

"I deeply regret what he did.Even if he is my brother, I can not accept him.I do not worry anymore for him."

According to Mr. Wijewardene, most of the badailants were "well educated" and came from "middle clbad or higher" families.

The Sri Lankan government blamed the attacks on local Islamist group National Thowheed Jamath (NTJ), but Wickremesinghe said the attacks "could not have been just local."

NTJ does not have a history of large scale attacks, but it became famous last year when it was accused of having damaged Buddhist statues. The group did not declare having carried out the bombing on Sunday.

The EI said online that it had "targeted Crusader alliance citizens." [anti-IS US-led coalition] and Christians in Sri Lanka ".

He provided no evidence of this claim other than social media images of the alleged perpetrators.

What are the measures taken by the security forces?

Police arrested about 60 suspects as part of the attack. The state of emergency remains in effect to prevent further attacks.

Image caption: The funeral continued on Wednesday

The almost simultaneous attacks targeted three churches filled with Easter services and three large hotels in the capital, Colombo.

An attack on a fourth hotel Sunday was foiled, Wickremesinghe said. He also warned that new militants and explosives could still be "out" after the attack.

One of the targeted hotels, the Kingsbury, has now reopened.

The country remains tense and the police are still looking for additional suspects and explosives.

Citing the "ongoing terrorist plots in the country," US envoy to Sri Lanka Alaina Teplitz told reporters that terrorists could "strike without warning."

Who were the victims?

The first funeral took place on Tuesday as Sri Lanka marked an official day of mourning for the victims.

Most of the dead were Sri Lankan nationals, including dozens of Christians attending Easter Sunday services.

Some 38 foreign nationals were among the dead and 14 others missing. The death toll includes at least eight British citizens and at least eleven Indian nationals.

The mbad funeral for about thirty victims took place at the Church of San Sebastián de Negombo, north of Colombo, one of the places targeted by Sunday's blast.