BLASTS TARGETING CHURCHES, HOTELS CARRIED OUT BY LOCAL ISLAMIST GROUP, SAYS SRI LANKA.

A day after a series of eight blasts targeting churches and hotels in Sri Lanka on Sunday killing at least 290 people and left over 500 injured; the Sri Lankan government believes a local Islamist extremist group called the National Thowheeth Jama'ath (NTJ) was behind the deadly suicide bomb attacks.

The Sri Lankan government has blamed a local, newly formed radicalist Islamic group National Tawheed Jamath for yesterday’s attacks on the island. Health Minister and the government spokesman, Rajitha Senaratne, also said that all suicide bombers involved in the blasts are believed to be Sri Lankan nationals. She also added that the government was investigating whether the group had "international support".

According to NDTV, documents seen by AFP show Sri Lanka's police chief issued a warning on April 11, saying that a "foreign intelligence agency" had reported NTJ was planning attacks on churches and the Indian high commission. Not much is known about the NTJ, a radical Muslim group that his been linked to the vandalising of Buddhist statues.

Meanwhile, a police source told AFP that all 24 people in custody in connection with the attacks belong to an "extremist" group, but did not specify further. Currently, the government said it will declare a nationwide emergency from midnight on Monday following the serial blasts. The government also ordered a new night-time curfew as tensions remained high. The government information department said the curfew would run from 8:00 pm on Monday (local time) until 4:00 am on Tuesday.