Sri Lanka: 20 killed as police raid suspected bomber hideout

Colombo: The bodies of 15 people, including six children, were discovered after a fierce overnight gun battle on the east coast of Sri Lanka, a military spokesman said on Saturday. Authorities said another four gunmen and a civilian were killed in the shootout.

The gun battle between troops and suspected Islamist militants erupted on Friday evening in Sainthamaruthu in Ampara, to the south of the town of Batticaloa, site of one of the Easter Sunday blasts at luxury hotels and churches.

Gunmen opened fire on troops when they attempted to storm a house, military spokesman Sumith Atapattu said. “In our retaliatory fire two gunmen were killed,” he said adding that a civilian caught in the crossfire was also killed.

Police later said clearing operations on Saturday showed four suspected suicide bombers among the dead.

The joint operation between the police and the army was carried out following a tip-off that those responsible for the Easter suicide bombings were holed up in the area 370km (230 miles) east of the capital.

The clashes came hours after the security forces raided the location where they believed Islamist radicals recorded a video pledge to Islamic State leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi before carrying out the Easter bombings.

Police said they found an IS flag and uniforms similar to those worn by the eight fighters for the video before they launched Easter Sunday’s attacks against three luxury hotels and three churches, killing 253.

“We have found the backdrop the group used to record their video,” the police said in an earlier statement on Friday night.

The Islamic State group had released the video two days after the attack.

Police showed the clothing and the flag on national television, as well as some 150 sticks of dynamite and about 100,000 ball bearings seized from the house.

Security forces armed with emergency powers have stepped up search operations for Islamic extremists responsible for the bombings.

Courtesy: Reuters/AFP