Second attack planned to follow Easter bombings, investigations reveal

Investigations have revealed that a second attack had been planned following the 2019 Easter Sunday bombings, said Police Media Spokesman SP Jaliya Senaratne.

The Police Media Spokesman, holding a special press conference at the Department of Government Information today (19), said that according to investigations, a second-tier team had been recruited and trained for another attack to follow the Easter attacks.

However, the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) has been able to thwart those plans through their investigations, the Spokesman added.
 
As per previous investigations, Zahran Hashim’s team had divided and a portion parted ways, while Hashim’s team continued to plan and carry out the attacks. However, the latest investigations have revealed that the division of the team was fabricated to misguide intelligence units and mislead investigations.

Currently, 197 suspects have been arrested in connection to the attacks. Some suspects have established, led and funded organizations that misinterpreted Islam and spread extremist ideas among youth to create a second-tier team, said Senaratne. The suicide bombers who carried out the attack had also been directly involved in this process, he said.

Information has been uncovered on individuals who have aided, abetted and prompted such plans and investigations are carried out along this new information, according to Senaratne.

It has also been revealed that foreign nationals, too, have been involved in the process, he added.
Further, information has been recovered that there had been plans to hide some foreign nationals in Sri Lanka after they carry out an attack against a certain South Asian country, said Senaratne.

Responding to a journalist’s query regarding the arrest of a lawyer, the Media Spokesman clarified that the aforementioned suspect was not arrested over a telephone conversation with a client, as per certain social media posts. Senaratne said that relevant suspect was arrested with sufficient facts and evidence and that the Police completely reject accusation made through social media.

He further said that the CID has not carried out investigations targeting a certain person or a profession. All investigations are based on sufficient facts, information and evidence with legal validity, he added.