Sri Lanks authorities on Wednesday arrested the country's former intelligence chief, Suresh Sally, for "conspiracy and aiding and abetting"
...and abetting" the 2019 Easter bombings, which killed 279 people, according to an investigating officer. A whistleblower has claimed Sallay allowed the attack to proceed with the intention of influencing the 2019 presidential election. Sri Lanka's criminal investigators arrested the country's former intelligence chief on Wednesday in connection with the 2019 Easter Sunday bombings that killed 279 people, including 45 foreigners. Police said retired Major General Suresh Sallay was taken into custody at dawn in a suburb of the capital, Colombo in the most high-profile arrest in the long-running investigation. "He was arrested for conspiracy and aiding and abetting the Easter Sunday attacks," an investigating officer told AFP. "He has been in touch with people involved in the attacks, even recently." The coordinated bombings targeted three upmarket hotels in the capital, two Roman Catholic churches, and an evangelical Protestant church outside Colombo. The attacks were blamed on a homegrown jihadist group. The Catholic Church, which has spearheaded a campaign demanding justice for all victims of the brutal bombings, welcomed the arrest as a sign the investigation was continuing.
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