Colombo: Sri Lanka security forces exchanged fire with suspected ISIS-affiliated terrorists and killed at least four of them in the east of the country, police and the military said Saturday. A civilian was also killed in the crossfire.
Gunmen opened fire on troops when they attempted to storm a house in the town of Kalmunai, 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 a total of four suspected suicide bombers had died during the overnight confrontation.
“We found four bodies of suspected suicide bombers,” the police statement said, also confirming one civilian was killed in the crossfire, while three others escaped with injuries.
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 a built-up area of Kalmunai, 370 kilometres (230 miles) east of the capital.
There were no casualties among the security forces, the police said.
The clashes came hours after the security forces raided the location where they believe Islamist radicals recorded a video pledge to ISIS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi before carrying out the deadly Easter bombings.
The Sri Lankan authorities are on a lookout for 140 people believed linked to ISIS, which claimed responsibility for the Easter Sunday suicide bombings that killed 253, as shooting erupted in the east during a raid. Nearly 10,000 soldiers were deployed across the Indian Ocean island state to carry out searches and provide security for religious centres, the military said.
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Ms Kalinga