Security experts: Sri Lanka attacks carry hallmarks of ISIS, al Qaeda

The bombings on Easter Sunday in Sri Lanka that killed almost 300 people carry hallmarks of groups like ISIS or al Qaeda, various security experts told Reuters.

No one has yet claimed responsibility for the attacks at churches and hotels on the island nation.

“These synchronized attacks are out of the ordinary for Sri Lanka,” anti-terrorism expert Alto Labetubun told Reuters.

{mosads}”Compared with similar attacks in the Middle East and Southeast Asia, it has the DNA of attacks carried out by Islamic State and al Qaeda.”

An anonymous Asian counterterrorism official told Reuters the attack was likely carried out by a group with “significant operational capability and skilled commanders.”

Sri Lankan President Maithripala Sirisena’s office said intelligence reports indicated foreign terrorist organizations were behind Sri Lankan militants.

Rohan Gunaratna, a Singapore-based security expert, told Reuters the Sri Lankan group was the ISIS branch in the country.

On Sunday, Sri Lankan Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe said that the government had some prior information about possible attacks on churches involving a little-known Islamist group, according to Reuters.