India sent three alerts to Sri Lanka before attack

With inputs from Agencies

Wednesday, April 24, 2019

India sent as many as three alerts to Sri Lanka, including one on the day of the Easter Sunday attack that left 321 people dead and 500 injured, media reported.

According to report, in the first alert, the agencies told Sri Lanka that, apart from churches, the Indian High Commission in Colombo could be a target. The second alert was sent a day before the attack and was even more specific than the first one in that it mentioned the possible targets, report added.

On Tuesday, Sri Lankan Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe held a press briefing where he confirmed that India had provided prior intelligence on the jihadi threat. To a question from reporters, he said, They have always shared intelligence with us. There was specific intelligence on this.

Three churches and four hotels were hit by suicide bombers on Sunday morning, killing 321 people and wounding 500, sending shockwaves through an island state that has been relatively peaceful since a civil war ended a decade ago.

News agency Reuters reported that Indian intelligence officers contacted their Sri Lankan counterparts two hours before the first attack to warn of a specific threat on churches, one Sri Lankan defense source and an Indian government source said. Another Sri Lankan defense source said a warning came “hours before” the first strike, Reuters added. According to it, one of the Sri Lankan sources said a warning was also sent by the Indians on Saturday night. The Indian government source said similar messages had been given to Sri Lankan intelligence agents on April 4 and April 20.

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