Sri Lanka bombers had clear links to ISIS – President
(AFP PHOTO / LAKRUWAN WANNIARACHCHI)
Sri Lankan intelligence services believe the Easter Sunday suicide bombers had “very clear” links to ISIS, the country’s president told CNN Monday.
President Maithripala Sirisena said the terror group had provided training to the perpetrators of last week’s attacks, and that links between ISIS and extremists in Sri Lanka could be traced back 15 years.
But Sirisena rejected claims that he should resign in the face of the catastrophic intelligence failures in the runup to the attacks, which killed more than 250 people and injured at least 500. Instead, he blamed officials and ministers in his government for failing to act on warnings.
Secretary of Defense Hemesiri Fernando and the Inspector General of Police Pujith Jayasundara had been “careless, negligent and irresponsible in executing their duties” for “not thinking that an incident of this nature would actually occur,” the President said. Fernando resigned last week.
Sirisena said he had “not been updated or notified with the information that they received about the possibility of such a severe attack on our soil.”
The President admitted that he was abroad “for a personal holiday” when intelligence memos warning of a potential terrorist act were sent to Sri Lankan defense ministry and police chiefs.
Sirisena also hit back at criticism that a political rift with his Prime Minister had created a governmental void which paved the way for such terrorist attacks to take place. “When it comes to national security, there are no party differences, religious differences or racial differences between us as Sri Lankans,” he said.
“At present, myself, the Prime Minister, the government, we are all working as one, to ensure that the country is safeguarded,” he said.
(Source: CNN)
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My dear Prezzy,
We already know what you are saying. You don’t have to repeat what is in world media.
You were informed by the Intelligence and IGP many days before you went to worship the Golden God Stautues in Tirumala and then went to Singapore to feast with a Gem Merchant and do shopping for your son’s wedding.
You ignored all the security briefiings becasue you thought you could use the incidents to blame UNP.
Now you are preaching rubbish politics hoping to become President again.
Go away, you crook, cut throat Pamba””; you are a stupid crook.
What a pathetic performance, talking nonsense, to insult our nation even further! So you mean to tell us that had you been told, YOU would have been the one to save us from this horror? What a load of horse crap is that? Don’t you, and our equally wimpy PM, appoint ‘experts’ into these critical national security positions so that based on their high experience and deep knowledge in these critical matters of terrorism related intelligence (that you have zero capability as you have not been in such an expert roles in your career ever, meaning you and you the wimpy PM were not in police intelligence, military intelligence, etc) thankfully, we are supposed to be spared of this type of horror? Oh, I forgot, in Sri Lanka these appointments are made by you, and our wimpy PM, not based on merit but based on who is most loyal to you and PM personally and loyalty to your respective political parties! SHAME!
Ayyo Sirisena,
What a bluff you dirty crook. You had a great honey-moon with RW and having enjoyed his virginity (poor fellow) you divorced him, all his misdeeds although were a disgust you opened the dirty basket of beans, Now it is the best choice for both of you to embrace each other and jump into the beira lake instead of trying to further kill us having pawned most of the silver and lives of poor citizens.
P.N. Do not spare the dirty bunch (leaving the good ones). Tie their necks with bricks hold them carefully into the Beira Lake. Good Bye you SOB’s.