Easter Sunday blasts to avenge mosque shootings in NZ, says minister

Relatives carry coffins during funeral in Colombo. Pic/AFP

Sri Lanka's worst terror attack targeting churches and luxury hotels on Easter Sunday was carried out by a local extremist outfit in retaliation for the March 15 mosque shootings in New Zealand, nation's state minister of defence Ruwan Wijewardene informed Parliament on Tuesday, citing results of the initial probe.

According to an intelligence memo sent to some government officials before the attack, a member of the National Thowfeek Jama'ath (NTJ) had posted "extremist content" on social media after the Christchurch shootings were carried out by a right-wing extremist, he said Wijewardene has proposed banning the NTJ.

The government had said the NTJ had carried out the attacks with international aid. On Tuesday, ISIS claimed responsibility for the blasts.

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