In April 2019, on Easter Sunday, three church congregations in Sri Lanka and three luxury resorts in Colombo were targeted in a sequence of coordinated ISIS-connected terrorist suicide bombings. Around 269 individuals were killed, including at least 45 foreign citizens, three police officers, and eight suicide bombers. An additional 500 were wounded. According to the State Intelligence Service, a second wave of episodes was planned but was stopped due to government raids.
In the aftermath of these attacks, Srilankan Security forces advanced their counter-terror activities to get rid of the menace of terrorism. The government shut facilities for security; the Defence Ministry allocated a police curfew beginning at 18:00 local time on the day of the attacks and charged a temporary social media prohibition, whilst the Minister of Education, Akila Viraj Kariyawasam, had all schools shut for the following two days. The Colombo Stock Exchange reported that its operations will be temporarily stopped following the terror attacks, not opening as planned on 22 April 2019.
An improvised explosive device was discovered near the Bandaranaike International Airport in Colombo and was disassembled by the Sri Lankan Air Force. On 8 May 2019, Prime Minister Wickremesinghe informed plans for a centralised platform for the collection, monitoring and storage of intelligence. The system understood as the Centralised and Integrated Population Information System will manage biometric data from iris scanning and facial identification at all docks of entry and exit. The Ministry of Internal Affairs, Provincial Councils and local governments were ordered to prepare an action plan for this system in two weeks, to receive Cabinet approval.
On 22 April, the Special Task Force (STF), the elite counter-terrorism squad of the Sri Lanka Police, found a van belonging to the attackers near St. Anthony’s Shrine, the place of one of the prior day’s blasts. Upon inspection, the vehicle was discovered to have been rigged with 3 bombs. After the STF’s bomb-defusing unit vacated the surrounding area, the bombs were discharged simultaneously during a defusing attempt. The same day, police reportedly discovered 87 items of bomb paraphernalia at the Bastian Mawatha Private Bus Station in Pettah.
The Criminal Investigation Department unleashed names and photos of six suspects wanted in association with the Easter Sunday bombings, seeking public contribution. On 28 April, police verified two of the suspects, Mohomed Iwuhaim Saadiq Abdul Haq and Mohomed Iwuhaim Shahid Abdul Haq, who were apprehended in Nawalapitiya would be handed over to the CID. Since the attacks, any apparel covering the face including the burqa and niqab, has been banned in Sri Lanka.
The Sri Lanka Army and the STF conducted a search operation in Sainthamaruthu where three explosions and a shootout happened when they attempted to overrun a suspected hideout following a tip-off. Three suicide bombers mismanaged themselves, killing nine of their family members, including three women and six children, while three other terrorists were shot dead by the soldiers. One civilian was captured in the crossfire and died, according to police, while a wounded woman and kid were taken to hospital.
Another search operation in Sammanthurai established on information received by the State Intelligence Service led to a house where a cache of more than 150 gelignite sticks, IS liveries and flags, 100,000 metal orbs, a drone, a van and a laptop were found. An indefinite curfew was charged in the police areas of Kalmunai, Chawalakade and Sammanthurai.
As a result of the raids and apprehends a second wave of planned incursions targeting several churches, resisting mosques and the Temple of the Tooth were prevented. On the same day, a suspect was captured and more than 40 swords, kris blades and several uniforms similar to those sported by the army were retrieved from a mosque at Palliyaweediya on Slave Island.
