Indian Coast Guard placed on high alert after Sri Lanka bombings
New Delhi has beefed up security and surveillance along its maritime borders, reportedly to catch any terrorists fleeing to India from neighboring Sri Lanka, where 290 people were killed in the series of attacks on Easter Sunday.
Security has been enhanced in and around naval bases “as a precautionary measure” against the “backdrop” of the attacks in Sri Lanka, a Ministry of Defense spokesperson said on Monday, adding that surveillance of the area had also been increased.
Indian media earlier wrote that warships and spy planes were deployed along the nation’s maritime border. According to reports, the measures are intended to prevent the organizers of the deadly suicide bombings from fleeing to India by sea.
The coast guard was also tasked with thwarting scenarios, similar to the 2008 Mumbai attacks, when armed jihadists stormed several high-end hotels and shopping malls, among other targets.
Suicide bombers set off explosives in three Catholic churches, four hotels and an apartment complex in Sri Lanka on Easter Sunday, with most targets located in the country’s largest city, Colombo. Another bomb was defused near Colombo International Airport. A van rigged with explosives was found parked near a Colombo church the following day. The vehicle detonated in the presence of a bomb-disposal unit.
Overall, 290 people were killed in the attack, and hundreds injured. A total of 24 people were arrested in connection to the bombings, but so far no group has claimed responsibility for the tragedy. Some government officials said that the perpetrators were local Islamists, aided by an “international network.”
The government extended a nighttime curfew on Monday and declared a nationwide emergency.
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