{"id":13416,"date":"2026-02-25T09:52:53","date_gmt":"2026-02-25T09:52:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/?p=13416"},"modified":"2026-02-25T09:52:53","modified_gmt":"2026-02-25T09:52:53","slug":"sri-lankas-former-intelligence-chief-arrested-over-2019-easter-attacks-sri-lanka-bombing-news","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/?p=13416","title":{"rendered":"Sri Lanka\u2019s former intelligence chief arrested over 2019 Easter attacks | Sri Lanka Bombing News"},"content":{"rendered":"<p> <br \/>\n<\/p>\n<div id=\"\">\n<p class=\"article__subhead\"><em>Investigators say Suresh Sallay aided and conspired in the deadly Easter Sunday attacks that killed nearly 300 people.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div><button class=\"article-listen-container\" aria-labelledby=\"listen-text listen-duration\" data-testid=\"listen-to-article-button\"><\/p>\n<p><span class=\"article-listen-container__text\" data-testid=\"listen-to-article-text\">Listen to this article<\/span><span aria-hidden=\"true\">\u00a0|\u00a0<\/span><span class=\"article-listen-container__duration\">3 mins<\/span><\/p>\n<p><\/button><button tabindex=\"0\" class=\"tooltip-accessible_trigger\"><svg class=\"icon icon--info icon--main-grey-dark icon--16 listen-to-article-tooltip__icon\" viewbox=\"0 0 24 24\" version=\"1.1\" aria-hidden=\"true\" role=\"presentation\"><title>info<\/title><path class=\"icon-main-color\" d=\"M12 0a12 12 0 1 0 0 24 12 12 0 0 0 0-24Zm-.226 3.225a2.039 2.039 0 0 1 2.155 1.924v.193a1.998 1.998 0 0 1-2.155 2.149 2.029 2.029 0 0 1-2.146-2.15 2.039 2.039 0 0 1 1.955-2.122h.193l-.002.006Zm3.227 15.525a.75.75 0 0 1-.752.75H9.75a.75.75 0 0 1-.75-.75v-1.5a.75.75 0 0 1 .752-.75h.748V12h-.75a.75.75 0 0 1-.75-.75v-1.5a.75.75 0 0 1 .752-.751h3a.75.75 0 0 1 .75.752v6.75h.75a.75.75 0 0 1 .75.749L15 18.75Z\"\/><\/svg><\/button><\/div>\n<div>\n<div class=\"byline byline--single-avatar\">\n<div class=\"avatars-container\">\n<div class=\"responsive-image\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/www.aljazeera.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/2017-06-08T131939Z_1189275883_RC11B0FE7F20_RTRMADP_3_GULF-QATAR-JAZEERA-1714943623.jpg?resize=96%2C96&amp;quality=80 96w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 96px) 96px, 96px\" aria-hidden=\"true\"\/><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"article-dates\">\n<p><span class=\"screen-reader-text\">Published On 25 Feb 2026<\/span><span aria-hidden=\"true\">25 Feb 2026<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"rich-share\" data-testid=\"rich-share\">\n<div class=\"rich-share__wrapper\">\n<div class=\"rich-share__button-wrapper\"><button class=\"rich-share__button row\" aria-expanded=\"false\"><\/p>\n<p>Click here to share on social media<\/p>\n<p><svg class=\"icon icon--share2 icon--primary icon--16 \" viewbox=\"0 0 20 16\" version=\"1.1\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><title>share2<\/title><path fill=\"#000\" fill-rule=\"evenodd\" d=\"M11.688 9.048c-.659 0-1.252.282-1.673.733l-4.92-2.45c.016-.115.028-.232.028-.352 0-.117-.011-.23-.027-.343l4.913-2.423a2.285 2.285 0 0 0 1.68.739C12.964 4.952 14 3.899 14 2.6 14 1.302 12.965.25 11.688.25S9.377 1.302 9.377 2.601c0 .117.01.23.027.343L4.49 5.367a2.285 2.285 0 0 0-1.68-.739C1.536 4.628.5 5.681.5 6.979c0 1.299 1.035 2.35 2.312 2.35.659 0 1.252-.281 1.673-.731l4.92 2.45a2.357 2.357 0 0 0-.029.351c0 1.299 1.035 2.351 2.312 2.351S14 12.698 14 11.399s-1.035-2.35-2.312-2.35Z\" clip-rule=\"evenodd\"\/><\/svg><\/button><\/p>\n<p class=\"rich-share__social-text\">Share<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div aria-live=\"polite\" aria-atomic=\"true\">\n<p>Sri Lanka\u2019s criminal investigators have arrested the country\u2019s former intelligence chief in connection with the wave of 2019 Easter Sunday bombings that killed 279 people and upended the nation\u2019s tourism economic lifeline, police said.<\/p>\n<p>Retired Major-General Suresh Sallay was taken into custody at dawn in a suburb of the capital, police said on Wednesday.<\/p>\n<section class=\"more-on\">\n<h2 class=\"more-on__heading\">Recommended Stories<!-- --> <\/h2>\n<p><span class=\"screen-reader-text\">list of 3 items<\/span><span class=\"screen-reader-text\">end of list<\/span><\/section>\n<p>\u201cHe was arrested for conspiracy and aiding and abetting the Easter Sunday attacks,\u201d an investigating officer told the AFP news agency.<\/p>\n<p>Sallay, who was promoted to State Intelligence Service (SIS) chief in 2019 after Gotabaya Rajapaksa became president, had been accused of involvement in the coordinated suicide bombings, a charge he has denied.<\/p>\n<p>Six almost simultaneous suicide bomb attacks struck Easter congregations at three churches and guests at three luxury hotels during breakfast.<\/p>\n<p>The bombings injured more than 500 people, also killed 45 foreign nationals, and dealt a severe blow to the island\u2019s vital tourism sector.<\/p>\n<p>In the aftermath, officials blamed a local armed group for the suicide bombings, but Sallay was also accused of orchestrating the attack.<\/p>\n<p>British broadcaster Channel 4 reported in 2023 that Sallay was linked to the bombers and had met them before the attack.<\/p>\n<p>A whistleblower told the network that he had permitted the attack to proceed with the intention of influencing that year\u2019s presidential election in favour of Rajapaksa.<\/p>\n<p>Two days after the bombings, Rajapaksa declared his candidacy and went on to win the November vote in a landslide after promising to stamp out violence.<\/p>\n<p>Sallay was promoted to head the SIS, Sri Lanka\u2019s main intelligence agency, following Rajapaksa\u2019s victory, but was dismissed after Anura Kumara Dissanayake won the presidency in 2024, promising prosecutions of those behind the attack.<\/p>\n<h2 id=\"questions-remain\">Questions remain<\/h2>\n<p>Other investigations faulted the authorities for failing to act on warnings from an Indian intelligence agency that an attack was imminent.<\/p>\n<p>In 2023, Sri Lanka\u2019s Supreme Court said former President Maithripala Sirisena and four other senior officials failed to avert the bombings.<\/p>\n<p>It ordered Sirisena to personally pay 100 million rupees ($273,300) in compensation to relatives of victims who filed the civil case. The then police chief, two senior intelligence officers and the Ministry of Defence secretary were jointly ordered to pay a further 210 million rupees ($574,000).<\/p>\n<p>The United Nations has asked Sri Lanka to publish parts of previous inquiries into the bombings that were withheld from the public.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><br \/><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Investigators say Suresh Sallay aided and conspired in the deadly Easter Sunday attacks that killed nearly 300 people. Listen to this article\u00a0|\u00a03 mins info Published On 25 Feb 202625 Feb 2026 Click here to share on social media share2 Share Sri Lanka\u2019s criminal investigators have arrested the country\u2019s former intelligence chief in connection with the [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":13417,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-13416","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-asia-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13416","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=13416"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13416\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/13417"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=13416"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=13416"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inernews.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=13416"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}