Sri Lanka government blames local Islamist group behind Easter bomb blasts

Sri Lankan government officials on Monday said a local militant group called National Thowfeek Jamaath carried out multiple suicide bomb attacks the previous day in which 290 people died.

Health Minister Rajitha Senaratne told a news conference that all the bombers were Sri Lankan citizens, but that the group likely had foreign links as the attacks seemed too sophisticated to have been carried out without "international support."

Officials said 24 Sri Lankan suspects were now in custody for questioning in connection with the attacks.

A government forensic crime investigator said an examination of the attackers' body parts showed that they were suicide bombers.

The attacks, which targeted Christian churches and hotels popular with foreigners, amounted to the deadliest violence to hit Sri Lanka since a civil war ended 10 years ago. More than 500 people were injured in the blasts.