Sri Lanka’s government has admitted a “major intelligence lapse” ahead of the Easter Sunday bombings which killed more than 350 people and injured hundreds more.
The attacks on churches and hotels on Sunday exposed a significant intelligence failure, with warnings of strikes not acted on and feuds at the highest levels of government, officials said.
Three days after the attacks, deputy defence minister Ruwan Wijewardene said: “It is a major lapse in the sharing of intelligence information. We have to take responsibility.
“We have to take responsibility because unfortunately if the sharing of the intelligence information had been given to the right people, I think that at least this could have been avoided or even minimised.”
Lakshman Kiriella, leader of parliament, said senior officials had deliberately withheld information about possible attacks. MPs also heard that an Indian intelligence warning from the beginning of April about planned attacks was not properly shared by authorities.
"Some top intelligence officials hid the intelligence information purposefully," he said. "Information was there but the top brass security officials did not take appropriate actions."
President Maithripala Sirisena on Wednesday asked for the resignations of the defence secretary and national police chief in a dramatic internal shake-up. He did not say who would replace them.
Mr Sirisena said he had been kept in the dark on the intelligence about the planned attacks and vowed to "take stern action" against officials who failed to share it.
The death toll rose on Wednesday to 359, including eight Brits.
Police spokesman Ruwan Gunasekara also said 18 suspects were arrested overnight, raising the total detained to 58.
Sri Lankan authorities have blamed a local extremist group, National Towheed Jamaat, whose leader, alternately named Mohammed Zahran or Zahran Hashmi, became known to Muslim leaders three years ago for his incendiary online speeches.
Mr Wijewardene said the attackers had broken away from National Towheed Jamaat and another group, which he identified only as "JMI".
The Islamic State group has claimed responsibility for the attacks. Authorities remain unsure of the group's involvement, though authorities are investigating whether foreign militants advised, funded or guided the local bombers.
Mr Wijewardene said many of the suicide bombers were highly educated and came from well-off families.
"Their thinking is that Islam can be the only religion in this country," he told reporters.
"They are quite well-educated people," he added, saying that at least one had a law degree and some may have studied in the UK and Australia.
A British security official has confirmed a report that a suicide bomber who is believed to have studied in the UK between 2006 and 2007 was Abdul Lathief Jameel Mohamed.
The security official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitive nature of the investigation, said British intelligence was not watching Mohamed during his stay in the country.
