Sri Lankans remember Easter bomb victims at home amid virus

Sri Lankans commemorated the anniversary of last year's Islamic State group-inspired Easter Sunday bomb attacks from their homes on Tuesday amid the coronavirus pandemic.

More than 260 people were killed when three churches — two Catholic and one Protestant — came under simultaneous suicide bomb attacks during Easter celebrations on April 21, 2019. Three tourist hotels were also targeted, killing some 42 foreign nationals.

Public memorials organized to mark the anniversary were canceled amid a rise in COVID-19 patients. Instead, church pastors were asked to ring bells and two-minutes of silence be observed at 8:45 a.m., the time of the bomb attacks.

Investigators concluded that two Muslim groups inspired by the Islamic State group were responsible for the attacks. The government of then-President Maithripala Sirisena was blamed for ignoring near specific intelligence received before the attacks.

“We are grateful to those friendly nations that generously shared the intelligence information prior to the attack on several occasions, which our political leaders unfortunately did not take seriously," said Cardinal Malcolm Ranjith, the Archbishop of Colombo, Sri Lanka's capital.

“We honor specially all those who lost their lives, those who were seriously injured and all those who lost loved ones, families that have been broken up ..." the archbishop said.

The police chief at the time and the secretary to the ministry of defense are facing legal action over alleged negligence.

More than 100 suspects with alleged links to the masterminds of the attacks have been detained by police.

Sri Lankan police earlier this month arrested the brother of a former Cabinet minister and a lawyer for alleged links to the suicide bombers.