Islamic State planning 'new strategy' to target smaller countries, claims Sri Lankan president Maithripala Sirisena

Colombo: It is quite possible that the Islamic State (IS) has launched a “new strategy” by beginning to target smaller countries, says Sri Lankan President Maithripala Sirisena. [caption id=“attachment_4378529” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  File photo of Maithripala Sirisena. AFP[/caption] IS had claimed the responsibility for the Easter Sunday bombings last month, which killed over 250 people in Sri Lanka. In an interview with the Sky News, Sirisena said the authorities are aware of “a small group” of Sri Lankans, who have travelled abroad to receive training from the IS over the past decade. He said the analysis of the explosives and devices taken into custody suggested that the bombs used in the coordinated terror attacks on 21 April, which rattled several churches and high-end hotels across the country, were made locally. More than 250 people were killed and several hundred suffered injuries in the eight coordinated explosions that jolted Sri Lankan cities of Colombo, Negombo, Kochchikede and Batticaloa as the Christian community celebrated Easter. Meanwhile, the US has warned Sri Lanka against “more assaults” planned by the IS, adding that “there is active planning underway,” the state media has reported. In the wake of the attacks, Sri Lankan authorities, last week, banned two different local Islamist groups, including the National Thowheeth Jama’ath (NTJ), and the splinter group Jamathei Millathu Ibrahim (JMI). These two terror outfits are said to be affiliates of the Islamic States or Daesh. The office of Sri Lanka President, in a statement issued on Sunday, further banned all kinds of face covers, including burqas, on the security grounds post the Easter Sunday blasts.