Sri Lankan authorities have detained people, foreigners, including several Pakistanis and Egyptians on Thursday as they investigate deeper into the Easter Sunday’s eight consecutive suicide bombing attack in the region, that has claimed the lives of more than 359 people.
Sri Lankan police stated many of those who were arrested by the authorities overnight were Pakistanis and Egyptians, although there were no immediate suggestions that they had a direct connection to the terrorist attacks on four hotels and three churches on Easter Sunday, that has injured around 500 people.
On Thursday, state-police said some 16 more people were arrested overnight, raising numbers of detainees to at least 76, since Sunday, as well, that number also includes a Syrian national, according to Dawn news reports.
In a statement, the police state one of those who were detained overnight was directly linked to a terrorist outfit but however, provide no further details. It also said another was also taken into custody during investigating people’s Facebook account page and found what they call it as “hate speech”.
A police spokesperson said, “It was related to the spreading and preaching of terrorism.” It also reported many others were also arrested during the border crackdown.
Sri Lankan President Maithripala Sirisena is expected to hold a meeting with the envoys of different faiths on Thursday in order to address security concerns.
Hundreds of Pakistani nationals have fled Sri Lanka on Wednesday. “Because of the bomb blasts and explosions that have taken place here, the local Sri Lankan people have attacked our houses,” Adnan Ali, a Pakistani, told Reuters as he prepared to board a bus.
Sirisena has, on Tuesday, pledged major security changes in the country’s security force, stating he would be making “major changes in the leadership of the security forces in the next 24 hours”.
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