2019 Sri Lanka Easter bombings

"Sri Lanka Easter bombings" redirects here. For the 1942 Easter Sunday Japanese bombing of Ceylon (now Sri Lanka), see Easter Sunday Raid.

2019 Sri Lanka Easter bombings
Part of terrorism in Sri Lanka, terrorism linked to ISIL, and the persecution of Christians in the modern era
Three of the major targets. Clockwise from upper left: The Kingsbury; Shangri-La Hotel; St. Anthony's Shrine.
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Location of bombings in Colombo City
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Location of targeted cities around Sri Lanka
Location
Churches
Hotels
Housing complex
Date21 April 2019; 5 years ago (2019-04-21)
TargetMainly Christians and tourists
Attack type
Suicide bombings,[1] mass murder
WeaponsAcetone peroxide, explosive shrapnel
Deaths270 (excluding 9 bombers)[2][3][4]
Injured500+[5]
PerpetratorsNine suicide bombers[6]
Motive
InquiryPresident Sirisena invoked emergency laws, providing police extensive powers; the president later stated that emergency laws would be confined to dealing with the current terrorism threat and would not be used to impinge freedom of expression[11]
ChargesNine individuals charged with supplying paraphernalia used in connection with an act of terrorism appeared in Colombo Magistrates Court on 6 May 2019[12]

On 21 April 2019, Easter Sunday, three churches in Sri Lanka and three luxury hotels in the commercial capital, Colombo, were targeted in a series of coordinated ISIS-related terrorist suicide bombings. Later that day, two smaller explosions occurred at a housing complex in Dematagoda and a guest house in Dehiwala. A total of 269 people were killed,[2][3] including at least 45 foreign nationals,[13] three police officers, and eight suicide bombers. An additional 500 were injured.[a] The church bombings were carried out during Easter services in Negombo, Batticaloa and Colombo; the hotels bombed included the Shangri-La, Cinnamon Grand, Kingsbury[19] and Tropical Inn.[b] According to the State Intelligence Service, a second wave of attacks was planned, but was prevented due to government raids.[24]

According to Sri Lankan government officials, all eight suicide bombers involved in the attacks were Sri Lankan citizens associated with National Thowheeth Jama'ath (NTJ), a local Islamist militant group with suspected foreign ties, previously known for attacks against Buddhists and Sufis.[7][25] On 23 April, State Minister of Defence Ruwan Wijewardene theorized that the attack was in retaliation for the Christchurch mosque shootings which occurred the month before on 15 March 2019.[c] The direct linkage between the two attacks has been questioned by the government of New Zealand and by other experts. The NTJ had been stockpiling explosives at least since January 2019.[30][31][32]

On 23 April 2019, the Amaq News Agency, a propaganda outlet for the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), stated that "the perpetrators of the attack targeting the citizens of coalition countries and Christians in Sri Lanka were Islamic State fighters."[10] Sri Lanka was not part of the anti-ISIL coalition, yet the overwhelming majority of those killed in the bombings were Sri Lankan citizens.[33] ISIL leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, who was previously believed to be either dead or retired, praised the attackers during an 18-minute video on a range of topics.[34] The Criminal Investigation Department, however, stated that there was no evidence of ISIL's direct involvement.[35]

Security lapses leading to the attack, and the Sri Lankan government's failure to act on intelligence were highlighted during inquiries into the attacks. On 12 January 2023, The Supreme Court of Sri Lanka ruled that the then-incumbent president Maithripala Sirisena and several other government authorities at the time failed to act on intelligence, and were ordered to pay compensation to victims.[36]

  1. ^ "Attacks carried out by suicide bombers, Govt. Analyst confirms". Ada Derana. 22 April 2019. Archived from the original on 22 April 2019. Retrieved 22 April 2019.
  2. ^ a b "Sri Lanka marks Easter Sunday attack anniversary". BBC News. 21 April 2020. Archived from the original on 21 April 2020. Retrieved 22 April 2020.
  3. ^ a b "Sri lanka bombings executive summary report". Archived from the original on 4 June 2020. Retrieved 22 April 2020.
  4. ^ "2019 Easter Attacks Victim Dies Five Years After Tragedy; Cardinal Pays Final Respects". News First. 29 May 2024. Archived from the original on 29 May 2024. Retrieved 29 May 2024.
  5. ^ "Death toll from Easter Sunday attacks climbs to 321". Ada Derana. 23 April 2019. Archived from the original on 23 April 2019. Retrieved 23 April 2019.
  6. ^ Cite error: The named reference bombers was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  7. ^ a b "The Latest: UN Security Council condemns Sri Lanka attack". San Francisco Chronicle. 22 April 2019. Archived from the original on 22 April 2019. Retrieved 22 April 2019.
  8. ^ "Daesh says its 'fighters' behind Sri Lanka bombings". DailySabah. 23 April 2019. Archived from the original on 23 April 2019. Retrieved 23 April 2019.
  9. ^ Cite error: The named reference TheHindu25May was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  10. ^ a b "Sri Lanka bombings: Isis claims responsibility for deadly church and hotel attacks on Easter Sunday". The Independent. 23 April 2019. Archived from the original on 23 April 2019.
  11. ^ "Sri Lanka bombings: All the latest updates". Al jazeera. Archived from the original on 22 April 2019. Retrieved 23 April 2019.
  12. ^ Griffiths, James; Gupta, Swati (23 April 2019). "ISIS suspect gave advance warning of Sri Lanka bombings, source says". CNN. Archived from the original on 25 April 2019. Retrieved 25 April 2019.
  13. ^ "US Official, Injured in Sri Lanka Suicide Attack, Dies in Hospital". NDTV.com. Archived from the original on 31 October 2021. Retrieved 8 May 2019.
  14. ^ Bastians, Dharisha; Gettleman, Jeffrey; Schultz, Kai (21 April 2019). "Blasts Targeting Christians Kill Hundreds in Sri Lanka". The New York Times. Archived from the original on 13 June 2019. Retrieved 21 April 2019.
  15. ^ "156 Dead in Blasts at Two Sri Lanka Churches During Easter Mass: Report". NDTV. 22 April 2019. Archived from the original on 28 April 2019. Retrieved 24 April 2019.
  16. ^ "Sri Lanka Easter bombings live: Blasts during church services in Colombo". The National. 21 April 2019. Archived from the original on 21 April 2019. Retrieved 22 April 2019.
  17. ^ Sirilal, Ranga; Aneez, Shihar (21 April 2019). "Bombs kill more than 200 in Sri Lankan churches, hotels on Easter Sunday". Reuters. Archived from the original on 22 April 2019. Retrieved 22 April 2019.
  18. ^ Pokharel, Sugam; McKirdy, Euan (21 April 2019). "Sri Lanka blasts: At least 138 dead and more than 400 injured in multiple church and hotel explosions". CNN. Archived from the original on 21 April 2019. Retrieved 21 April 2019.
  19. ^ Moment of explosion at Sri Lanka's Kingsbury Hotel caught on CCTV, 27 April 2019, archived from the original on 15 April 2021, retrieved 6 March 2021
  20. ^ "Sri Lanka attacks: More than 200 killed as churches and hotels targeted". BBC News. 21 April 2019. Archived from the original on 21 April 2019. Retrieved 22 April 2019.
  21. ^ "Sri Lanka Easter bombings: Mass casualties in churches and hotels". Al Jazeera. 21 April 2019. Archived from the original on 5 May 2019. Retrieved 22 April 2019.
  22. ^ Burke, Jason; Parkin, Benjamin (21 April 2019). "Sri Lanka blasts: hundreds injured in church and hotel explosions". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 15 May 2019. Retrieved 20 April 2019.
  23. ^ Cite error: The named reference TropicalIndy was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  24. ^ "Failure of NTJ's second spate of orchestrated attacks". Archived from the original on 3 July 2019. Retrieved 3 July 2019.
  25. ^ "Sri Lanka bombers' mentor is dead, but his memory still stokes fear". CNN. 26 April 2019. Archived from the original on 30 April 2019. Retrieved 30 April 2019.
  26. ^ "Bombings were response to Christchurch shooting – State Minister". Ada derana. DeranaTV. Archived from the original on 23 April 2019. Retrieved 23 April 2019.
  27. ^ "State Defense Minister: Bombings were retaliation for Christchurch killings". CNN. 23 April 2019. Archived from the original on 8 May 2019. Retrieved 23 April 2019.
  28. ^ Wade, Matt (23 April 2019). "Sri Lankan attacks 'retaliation for Christchurch': minister". The Sydney Morning Herald. Archived from the original on 23 April 2019. Retrieved 23 April 2019.
  29. ^ "Sri Lanka blasts were in retaliation for New Zealand mosque shootings, official says". Washington Post. 23 April 2019. Archived from the original on 23 April 2019. Retrieved 23 April 2019.
  30. ^ Cite error: The named reference ardern was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  31. ^ "Sri Lanka: Nearly 300 dead, Kiwi security expert says attacks unlikely to be linked to Christchurch". NZ Herald. 23 April 2019. Archived from the original on 28 April 2019. Retrieved 24 April 2019.
  32. ^ "ISIS fanatics celebrate SL attacks". Daily mirror. Archived from the original on 1 May 2019. Retrieved 23 April 2019.
  33. ^ "Easter bombings victims identified". News. 22 April 2019. Archived from the original on 28 May 2019. Retrieved 24 April 2019.
  34. ^ "Abu Bakr al Baghdadi: Video emerges of 'Islamic State leader alive'". Sky News. Archived from the original on 30 April 2019. Retrieved 30 April 2019.
  35. ^ Cite error: The named reference Ravi was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  36. ^ "Sri Lanka ex-leader ordered to compensate Easter bombing victims". 12 January 2023. Retrieved 28 January 2023.


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