IS may be linked to bombings, says Sri Lanka's PM

The Islamic State (IS) group may be linked to bomb blasts which killed 321 people and wounded 500 in Sri Lanka, said prime minister Ranil Wickremesinghe.

Wickremesinghe said the government believed Sunday's attacks could not have been carried out without help from terror groups abroad.

IS claimed the attack on Tuesday, although did not provide evidence. IS said it had "targeted nationals of the crusader alliance [anti-IS US-led coalition] and Christians in Sri Lanka" via its Amaq news outlet.

It provided no evidence for the claim but shared an image on social media of eight men purported to be behind the attack.

Meanwhile, Sri Lanka's president Maithripala Sirisena vowed to "completely restructure" state security after the attacks.

In a televised address late on Tuesday, Sirisena said he plans to change the heads of defence forces "within the next 24 hours". He also admitted threat reports had not been shared with him, and promised to take "stern action" against security officials.

Sri Lanka's government has blamed the blasts on local Islamist group National Thowheed Jamath (NTJ). But Mr Wickremesinghe said the attacks "could not have been done just locally".

"There had been training given and a coordination which we are not seeing earlier," he said.

Police have now detained 40 suspects in connection with the attack, all of whom were Sri Lankan nationals. A state of emergency remains in effect to prevent further attacks.

Mr Wickremesinghe said that only Sri Lankan nationals had been arrested in connection with the attack so far, but that some of the attackers may have travelled abroad before the bombings.

''We, certainly the security apparatus, are of the view there are foreign links and some of the evidence points to that. So if the IS (Islamic State) claimed it, we will be following up on this claim," he added.

The nearly simultaneous attacks targeted three churches packed for Easter services and three major hotels in the capital, Colombo.

An attack on a fourth hotel on Sunday was foiled, Mr Wickremesinghe said. He also warned that further militants and explosives could still be "out there" following the attack.