Sri Lankan police arrested three members of banned Islamist group

Sri Lankan police Monday arrested three members of a banned Islamist organization linked to Easter Sunday suicide bomb attacks that killed more than 250 people, an official said.

Police spokesman Ruwan Gunasekara said in a statement that the three suspects, who belong to Jamathei Millathu Ibrahim, were arrested in eastern Ampara district.

He said they are believed to have received training at two locations run by ringleader Mohamed Zahran, who blew himself up at a tourist hotel on April 21 as part of coordinated attacks on three churches and three tourist hotels.

Two domestic radical Islamist groups, National Thowheed Jammath and Jamathei Millathu Ibrahim, are accused of having pledged allegiance to the Daesh (ISIS) group and carried out the blasts.

More than 500 people were wounded in the attacks.

Sri Lanka’s government banned both of the groups after the blasts. It has discovered a number of their hideouts and suspected training locations.

Source: Daily Star