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Sri Lanka bombings carried out in ‘retaliation for Christchurch’, says state defence minister

A Sri Lankan woman mourns relatives who died in one of the explosions.

A Sri Lankan woman mourns relatives who died in one of the explosions. Photo: Getty

The Easter Sunday bombings that killed more than 320 people in Sri Lanka were carried out as revenge for the mass shooting of Muslim worshippers in Christchurch, a Sri Lankan minister has told the country’s parliament.

State defence minister Ruwan Wijewardene said on Tuesday that early investigations into the deadly suicide bomb attacks show it was “retaliation for Christchurch”.

“The preliminary investigations have revealed that what happened in Sri Lanka (on Sunday) was in retaliation for the attack against Muslims in Christchurch,” Minister Wijewardene told parliament.

Some 50 Muslim worshippers were shot dead in a horrific terrorist attack on March 15 in which an Australian right-wing extremist live-streamed himself opening fire on people at two mosques in the New Zealand city of Christchurch.

Worshippers were left devastated after a gunman opened fire at them in their place of peaceful worship in Christchurch. Photo: AAP

The bomb attacks in Sri Lanka have been linked to a little-known local Islamist terror group called the National Thowheeth Jama’ath (NTJ).

Mr Wijewardene called on Twitter for NTJ to be listed as a terrorist organisation.

Earlier on Tuesday, devastated Sri Lankans began to bury the bodies of loved ones killed by the Easter Sunday bombings.

More than 450 people across the country are being treated for injuries sustained in the eight explosions that appeared to be targeted at Christians worshipping on Easter Sunday and tourists.

A bomb went off at a church in the Catholic-majority town of Negombo on the west coast of Sri Lanka, at about the same time as other bombs exploded in Colombo’s Kochchikade district and the eastern town of Batticaloa.

Australians Manik Suriaaratchi and her daughter Alexandria had been at an Easter church service when a bomb exploded. Photo: Facebook

Blasts ripped through three high-end hotels in Colombo, including the Shangri-La, Cinnamon Grand and Kingsbury Hotel, as well as the Tropical Inn Guest House near the Dehiwala Zoo, south of Colombo.

The final explosion occurred in a house in the Dematagoda area of Colombo on Sunday afternoon (local time) when police went to question suspects.

Another bomb device was also found near the airport in the capital, Colombo, but was destroyed before it could cause harm.

What is the National Thowheeth Jama’ath?

The National Thowheeth Jama’ath (NTJ) is an extreme Islamist terror group that wants Sri Lanka to be ruled by a radical interpretation of sharia law.

Under strict sharia law, people who commit “crimes” such as criticising the Qu’ran can be whipped or stoned to death, and people who are caught stealing can have their hands or feet cut off.

The NTJ has been described by Sri Lankan media as a “fringe, extremist religious minority” in a population largely comprised of peaceful Buddhists (70 per cent).

The group is believed to be an offshoot of a radical Islamist group in Sri Lanka called the Sri Lanka Thowheeth Jama’ath, known for its hatred toward Buddhists.

While the two groups are believed to be connected, the Sri Lanka Thowheeth Jama’ath has distanced itself from the NTJ and has condemned the bombing attacks.

So far, the NTJ has not officially claimed responsibility for the attacks.

However, the group allegedly sent a document warning authorities of the planned attack to Sri Lankan police days before the bombs exploded.

Sri Lanka’s telecommunications minister Harin Fernando tweeted a document sent by Sri Lanka’s police chief last week.

Some 40 people have been arrested in connection to the bombings, some of them believed to be young students of a preacher named in the document sent to police.

Unlike other terror groups such as Islamic State (ISIS) that strive for notoriety, the NTJ has kept an unusually quiet social media presence.

It has been suggested a foreign terror group was linked to the bombings, as the NTJ is not considered sophisticated enough to carry out terror attacks of such a large scale.

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