CCTV footage showing a suspected suicide bomber walking into the St Sebastian’s church in Sri Lanka’s Negombo has surfaced, two days after a series of coordinated blasts ripped through three churches and three high-end hotels in the island nation, killing at least 321 people and injuring nearly 500 others on Easter Sunday.
The footage shows the man carrying a backpack. The St Sebastian’s church in Negombo was among the three churches that were targeted on Sunday, the other two being St Anthony’s Church in Colombo and another in Batticaloa.
The hotels attacked included the Shangri La, the Cinnamon Grand and the Kingsbury.
Meanwhile, the Islamic State claimed responsibility for the bombings through its Amaq news agency on Tuesday, 23 April.
Catch the live updates on the Sri Lanka blasts here.
In a televised address on Tuesday, Sri Lankan PM Ranil Wickremesinghe said the investigators were making good progress with regard to identifying the culprits behind the bombings.
“Many countries are helping us, starting from the United States. I condole the death of all those who lost their lives.”Sri Lankan PM Ranil Wickremesinghe, as quoted by ANI.
The PM further said that he cannot conclusively say that the blasts were due to the Christchurch attack in New Zealand.
“It is possible it could have been due to the Christchurch attack, but we cannot say yet. Police who are questioning will be able to say.”Sri Lankan PM Ranil Wickremesinghe, as quoted by ANI.
Earlier, a Sri Lankan minister informed the parliament that the attacks were carried out by the local Islamic extremists in "retaliation for the mosque attacks in New Zealand's Christchurch," citing the initial probe result.
The authorities had suspected the role of local jihadist outfit National Towhead Jamath in the plotting of the deadly blasts.
As many as 10 Indians are among those dead in the bombings that struck the churches and the hotels.
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