On the east coast of Sri Lanka, 15 dead bodies were discovered at the site of a fierce overnight gun battle and among those 15, six bodies were of children. The news has been confirmed by a military spokesman. This incident has once again shocked everyone as it happened just six days after suicide bombers claimed more than 300 people lives.
In detail, the shootout between troops and suspected Islamist militants took place on Friday evening at one of the Easter Sunday blasts places. The spokesman also confirmed that three suspected suicide bombers were among the 15 dead after the shoot out. Military spokesman Sumith Atapattu said in a statement that as troops headed towards the safe house three explosions were triggered and gunfire began. “Troops retaliated and raided the safe house where a large cache of explosives had been stored,” he said in a statement.
These militants were suspected members of the domestic Islamist group National Towheed Jama’at (NTJ), which has been blamed for the Easter bomb blasts. The cops have also found bomb-making materials, gelignite sticks and thousands of metal balls during the pursuit of a separate house in the same area. Also, eight of the suicide bombers were identified and one among them was a woman. Officials confirmed all of them are well-educated.
The cops are now mainly focused on tracking down those 140 people who allegedly said to have connections with Islamic State and claimed responsibility for the suicide bombings. Police have detained at least 76 people, including foreigners from Syria and Egypt, in their investigations so far and 20 were arrested in the past 24 hours alone.
