COLOMBO, Sri Lanka (AP) – Sri Lanka’s Catholic Church cancelled Thursday its masses for second weekend in the capital, once the Government warned of possible attacks from the same group linked to Islamic State which perpetrated a deadly chain of attack s suicide on Easter Sunday and killed 257 people. Upon hearing the latest reports of safety, the cardinal Malcolm Ranjith canceled all religious services Sunday in the Diocese of Colombo, said his spokesman, father Edmund Tillakaratne.La last week, authorities called on Muslims to be they remain in their homes for the Friday prayer and all Catholic churches were closed. Instead of the usual Sunday mass, Ranjith offered a homily before national leaders from his home that was broadcast on television and priests. However, Muslim leaders encouraged the believers to return to mosques for Friday prayers, said N.M. Ameen, Chairman of the Muslim Council of Sri Lanka.
Ameen said that additional security was asked to the Government. The authorities have warned that several suspects linked to the attacks of April 21 churches and luxury hotels are still fugitives. Death toll for the attacks increased to 257 people, face the 253 of last week, reported Thursday the Health Secretary, Anil Jasinghe. It said that 47 people are still being served in hospitals, including 12 in intensive care. The cardinal Ranjith criticized the apparent failure of the Government to not share specific intelligence data that had about the plot and some of those involved. Intelligence warnings pointed out that Ministers could be included among the targets of the group, which vowed loyalty to EI, a Minister said Tuesday. Pakistani Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Quresi this week postponed a trip to Sri Lanka for security reasons, said a senior official of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs who spoke on the condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to provide information to the press. The US Embassy in Colombo remained closed to the public until Friday. The police published Wednesday night the names and photographs of nine alleged suicide responsible for the Easter attacks, all members of the local group known as National Towheed Jamaat. The list included the preacher extremist Mohamed Zahran, also known as Zahran Hashim and that was described as the leader of the attack, and the spouse of another suicide, who blew himself up along with his sons and three policemen in a house belonging to his father-in-law which is a major dealer of spices.
