Parliamentary committee probing the Easter suicide bombings has said a major statement that Sri Lankan President Maithripala Sirisena “actively undermined” national security, as it blamed the spy chief for the intelligence failure that led to the country’s deadliest terror attack in April.
Nine suicide bombers carried out a series of devastating blasts that tore through three churches and three luxury hotels on the Easter Sunday, killing 277 people. The Islamic State terror group claimed the attacks, but the government blamed local Islamist extremist group National Tawheed Jamaat for the bombings. President Sirisena suspended police chief Pujith Jayasundara as well as the defence secretary as part of the revamping of the security establishment following the attack. In 1,649-page report, the Parliament Select Committee on the Easter attacks said that the director of State Intelligence Service (SIS) is primarily responsible for the intelligence failure that led to the attacks. The panel also accused Sirisena of actively undermining the national security. “The president failed on numerous occasions to give leadership and also actively undermined government and systems including having ad hoc national security council meetings while leaving out key individuals from meetings,” it said.
Sirisena “actively undermined” national security: Parliamentary committee probing Easter bombings
