ISIS Claims Responsibility For Sri Lanka Bombing That Killed Over 350

Islamic State Claims Its Responsibility For Sri Lanka's Sunday Bomb Attack

• ISIS has claimed its responsibility for Sunday's bomb attack in Sri Lanka.
• The terrorist group announced the responsibility through its al-Amaq news agency.
• Sunday's attack killed at least 359 people and left over 500 battling for their lives in hospitals.
• Three churches and four hotels were targeted in the attack which the Sri Lankan government believes in vengeance of Christ Church mosque attack.

The Islamic State has claimed its responsibility for the Easter Sunday bombing at churches and hotels in Sri Lanka.

The group's official al-Amaq news agency made claim on its channel on its encrypted messaging app late Tuesday, 23rd April. The brief message said,

The perpetrators of the attack the targeted nationals of the crusader alliance (anti-IS US-led coalition) and Christians in Sri Lanka the day before yesterday were Islamic State fighters.

Sri Lankan government confirmed at least 359 people dead in one of the deadliest bomb attacks in the country since the end of civil war in 2009.

Before the claim was made, Sri Lanka's defense minister Ruwan Wijewardene told the attacks were a "retaliation" for last month's Christchurch mosque shooting. He told,

The preliminary investigations have revealed that what happened in Sri Lanka was in retaliation for the attack against Muslims in Christchurch.

Meanwhile, authorities blamed the homegrown extremist group National Thowheeth Jama'ath while they also suspected "international support." Government spokesman Rajitha Senaratne told news conference that:

There was an international network without which these attacks could not have succeeded. We are now investigating the international support for them, and their other links, how they produced the suicide bombers here, and how they produced bombs like this.

Later, the Amaq further published a video that showed eight men who appeared to be the Sri Lanka attackers-pledging allegiance to Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, the leader of ISIS, whom they called "emir of the believers." The video further showed the men holding their hands up; index fingers pointed to the sky.

Sri Lankan government is yet to release an official statement regarding the further actions over the attackers. At least 40 suspects were previously reported to be arrested in connection with the attack. Twenty-six of the arrested were being questioned by the criminal investigations department where the other three by the terrorist investigations unit.