Woman among 9 bombers, top Sri Lankan official 'deliberately' withheld intel inputs – 10 updates

Amid intense global outrage over the Easter Sunday blasts in Sri Lanka, defence minister Ruwan Wijewardene on Tuesday revealed that one of the bombers, who detonated the explosives, was a woman. The blasts at hotels and churches have so far killed at least 359 people, the deadliest such event in south Asia's history. The ISIS has claimed responsibility for the dastardly terror attack through a series of eight blasts. The group, however, did not give any evidence to back its claim, according to Reuters. 

Here are the latest updates from the island nation:

1: “Some top intelligence officials hid the intelligence information purposefully. Information was there, but the top brass security officials did not take appropriate actions,” Lakshman Kiriella, who is also minister of public enterprise, told parliament.

2: “Somebody is controlling these top intelligence officials,” the minister said. “The Security Council is doing politics. We need to investigate into this.”

3: Kiriella also said more than 100 people were likely to be arrested, without giving further details.

4: On the other hand, Sri Lanka has initiated a plan to ban the burqa as interrogation of suspects and other evidence are pointing to the involvement of a large number of women in the blasts.

5: The government is planning to implement the move in consultation with the mosque authorities, the Daily Mirror reported quoting sources.

6: If Sri Lanka adopts the burqa ban, it would join the group of nations in Asia, Africa, and Europe that have done so in the interest of preventing terrorists from using the burqa to evade police or hide explosives.

7: Police carried out a controlled explosion of a suspicious motorcycle parked near a cinema hall in Colombo.

8: The police said that the area near the Savoy Cinema at Wellawatta, South Colombo was cleared and the controlled explosion was carried out by the bomb disposal squad to check the motorcycle which had no owner.

9: No explosives were found in the vehicle. Sri Lankan police have asked all motorists and motor cyclists to leave their contact numbers in their vehicles when they leave them parked in the city.

10: Security forces have launched nationwide search operations to nab the perpetrators of the Easter Sunday bomb attacks.  

(With agency inputs)