Sri Lankan security forces continue operations against fundamentalist groups

Sri Lankan security forces continue with their operations against fundamentalist groups and suspects close to the suicide bombers involved in last Sunday attacks as Prime Minister Ranil Wickremsinghe has urged parliament to speed up the enactment of law against terrorist activities.

Security forces raided the headquarters of National Towheed Jamaath (NJT) in Kattankudy of eastern province after it was banned on Saturday. 

Police also arrested two main suspects and the elder brother of a suicide bomber who carried out the attack on the Shangri-La hostel in Colombo last Sunday. 

Two brothers and father of main perpetrator Zahran Hashmi, were reported killed in Friday night raids which killed upto 15 people. ISIS



claimed that three of its members were among those killed.

Meanwhile, Prime Minister Wickremsinghe has said, Sri Lanka's existing anti-terrorism laws were enacted in 1979 to combat domestic activities and in 2018, a draft bill was presented to parliament but a committee in charge was still sitting on it. 

He said in a statement that the third article of the bill prevents any individual or group that threatens or acts against the laws of a foreign government or its operations. 

Sri Lankan Prime Minister had earlier accepted that some of fundamentalists could not be arrested for their links with ISIS because there is no law to such effect in the country.