6 children, 3 women among 15 killed in raids on terror hideouts in Sri Lanka
Colombo: At least 15 people, including six children and three women, were killed when suicide bombers blew themselves up during a shootout with security forces in Sri Lanka's Eastern province, police said Saturday.
The security forces continue their hunt for members of the local terror group National Thowheeth Jamath (NTJ) which was behind the deadly Easter Sunday bombings in which 253 people were killed and over 500 injured.
"A total of 15 bodies recovered, six men, three women and six children. At least four suspected suicide bombers are dead and three others who were injured are in hospital," a police spokesperson said.
At the security council meeting held last night it was decided that search operations to crackdown on extremist terrorism must continue until the threat is completely eliminated.
Nine suicide bombers carried out a series of devastating blasts that tore through three churches and three luxury hotels on the Easter Sunday, killing 253 people.The Islamic State claimed the attacks, but the government has blamed local extremist group NTJ for the attacks.
Let the Truth be known. If you read VB and like VB, please be a VB Supporter and Help us deliver the Truth to one and all.
Amit Shah, RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat expected to visit Andamans for Savarkar event
Sri Vijaya Puram (PTI): Union Home Minister Amit Shah and RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat are expected to visit the Andaman and Nicobar Islands from Thursday, during which they will unveil a statue of Vinayak Damodar Savarkar, a senior official said.
Security has been beefed up in view of the high-profile visits, and traffic restrictions may be imposed in some areas, he said.
Bhagwat may have a brief interaction with the workers of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) at Dollygunj in Sri Vijaya Puram. This will be his first visit to the archipelago as a 'sarsanghchalak'.
Nearly two decades ago, Bhagwat had visited the islands as a 'sarkaryavah' (general secretary), while this will be Shah's second visit to the archipelago, which he visited in January 2023 to commemorate the 126th birth anniversary of Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose.
On December 12, both will unveil a statue of Savarkar at Beodnabad in South Andaman around 9.30 am, and in the evening, they will release a song on Savarkar in an event scheduled to be held at Dr B R Ambedkar Institute of Technology (DBRAIT), the official said.
On December 13, Bhagwat may address a public gathering at ITF Ground in Sri Vijaya Puram in the evening, and he will leave the archipelago on December 14.
The Union home minister may leave the islands either on the night of December 12 or the next morning, he said.
The entire event will be organised by a Maharashtra-based business group to commemorate the 116th anniversary of the penning of Savarkar's iconic poem, 'Sagara Pran Talamala' (Take me back to my motherland, O sea, my soul yearns). He wrote this poem in 1909.
Savarkar was jailed in the Cellular Jail in Port Blair (now known as Sri Vijaya Puram) by the British in 1911.
