In Sri Lanka, after the devastating suicide attacks on churches and luxury hotels in the night of Tuesday emergency regulations came into force. President Maithripala Sirisena imposed them in order to preserve public safety and order, and to ensure the supply of goods and services to citizens, a statement by the President said. The regulations give security authorities extended powers, such as searches and arrests.
The explosions in eight locations on Easter Sunday killed 310 people and left more than 500 injured. Among the more than 30 foreigners killed is a German-American, as the Foreign Office announced. Other German victims do not give it according to current knowledge, said a spokeswoman. 14 foreigners are still missing, according to the Sri Lanka Foreign Ministry.
According to the government, the attacks are backed by a local Islamist group. However, the government is convinced that the suspected group National Thowheeth Jama'ath (NTJ) may have carried out the attacks only with the support of an international network.
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Stop with about 300 dead: So pointlessThe UN Security Council condemned the series of attacks in Sri Lanka in the strongest terms. At the same time, he spoke to the families of the victims of the "vile and cowardly" attacks heartfelt sympathy, as stated in a statement of the UN body.
FBI offers support
Sri Lanka's President Sirisena called a three-member investigation team. This will examine the series of attacks and submit a first report in two weeks. The international police organization Interpol announced to send specialists with expertise in the areas of crime scene investigation, explosives, counterterrorism and victim identification. According to a Washington Post report, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) also sent investigators to Sri Lanka and provided official support, such as a laboratory test for explosives remnants. The newspaper refers to investigators.
According to Cabinet spokesman Rajitha Senaratne, there were indications of attack plans prior to the attacks. Foreign intelligence agencies had already informed on 4 April about possible suicide attacks on churches and tourist resorts in Sri Lanka. "We are responsible, we are very sorry," said Senaratne on behalf of the government. "We do not believe that these attacks were perpetrated by a group of people who were limited to this country," he said. "There was an international network without which these attacks would not have succeeded." According to police, 40 suspects were arrested and interrogated.
Most of the victims had been victims of the attacks in the churches when Easter services were taking place. In the island state, about seven percent of its 20 million inhabitants are Christians. Politicians from the CDU, FDP and the Greens lament the background of the attacks, the growing threat to Christian minorities in many states.