Easter attacks: Sri Lanka detains nearly 100 suspects

Colombo

SRI Lanka's military has detained nearly 100 suspects during four days of search operations against remnants of an Islamist group blamed for the Easter attacks that killed 258, officials said on Sunday.

Some 3,000 military personnel were deployed in and around the capital as well as other key towns for cordon-and-search activities that began on Thursday, a military official said.

In the first three days, security forces took 87 suspects into custody and they were handed over to police for further investigations, he added.

"The number of people detained could be around 100 by now," a security official said adding that almost all were taken in for possessing drugs and in some cases illegal weapons.

A few were also detained along with video and other propaganda material of the local jihadi group, the National Thowheeth Jama'ath (NTJ) which has been blamed for the April 21 bombings.

The Islamic State group has also claimed a role in the attacks.

Several parts of the capital were also targeted in search operations by troops on Sunday. AFP