Bloodbath In Sri Lanka Is Not Over Yet As Police Kills 15 Including Suicide Bombers In Gunfight

It has been a week since Sri Lank witnessed one the bloodiest days in its history when over 250 people including dozens of foreign tourists were killed after terrorists struck Catholic churches and luxury hotels.

Since then every passing day the island nation has been waking up to the fears of more such attacks.

This has been aggravated by the fears that more members from the suicide squad of National Thowheed Jamath (NTJ), which was behind the Easter Sunday bombings may have slipped through and are planning more strikes.

AFP

As the Lankan security forces continue their hunt for the terrorists, they engaged with a group of suspects in the town of Sainthamaruthu, Kalmunai on Friday evening.

They were held up in a house, which is believed to be the bomb-making factory of the ISIS-inspired NTJ.

Police commandos, backed by the army engaged with the group held up inside the house for hours with heavy firing from both sides. Three explosions were also heard during the fire exchange. By Saturday morning, hours, after the gunbattle ended police, said they have recovered 15 bodies including children and women from the encounter site.

AFP

They also claimed that some of the terrorists tried turning suicide bombers during the encounter, but failed. At least two members of the group, including one who is injured in the exchange, are believed to have escaped.

A large cache of explosives, including 100,000 ball bearings, 150 gelignite sticks, a large stock of steel pellets, a drone, a suspicious van, a laptop and ISIS uniforms, and flags were recovered from the house.

AFP

One of the men killed in the encounter is said to be Mohamed Niyas, a prominent member of the NTJ and the brother-in-law of Zahran Hashim, the mastermind of the Easter Sunday attacks.

Friday's encounter came as there is a nationwide crackdown on groups with suspected extremist links.

"Every household in the country will be checked," President Maithripala Sirisena told a news conference, according to a statement. "The lists of permanent residents of every house will be established to ensure no unknown persons could live anywhere."