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Sri Lanka army chief says threat of more Islamist militant attacks contained

Sri Lanka army chief says threat of more Islamist militant attacks contained
Sri Lanka's Army commander Mahesh Senanayake speaks during an interview with Reuters at the Army Headquarters in Colombo, Sri Lanka May 10, 2019. REUTERS/Dinuka Liyanawatte Copyright  DINUKA LIYANAWATTE(Reuters)
Copyright DINUKA LIYANAWATTE(Reuters)
By Reuters
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By Shri Navaratnam and Ranga Sirilal

COLOMBO (Reuters) - Sri Lanka's army commander Mahesh Senanayake said the threat of more Islamist militant attacks has been contained and the security services have dismantled most of the network linked to the Easter Sunday bombings.

In an interview with Reuters on Friday, Senanayake said that investigators have established that the plotters had links to Islamic State, but added that the authorities are still trying to establish how deep those contacts were.

"There is a link internationally, so we are working on those lines " he said.

"Definitely there is an IS link. That doesn't mean it was a direct IS hit. But we are trying to establish how deep it is in order to plan our (military) operations."

The army chief said he expects the country to return to normality within days and wants the military to head back to their barracks soon.

(Reporting By Shri Navaratnam & Ranga Sirilal; Editing by Hugh Lawson)

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