Sri Lanka troops kill two suspected IS gunmen; explosives found during raid
Sri Lanka Easter day bombings
Sri Lankan security forces raided a safe house of Islamic State affiliated militants in the east of the country and killed at least two men in an exchange of fire, news agency AFP reported quoting military spokesman.
Gunmen opened fire on troops when they attempted to storm the house in the town of Kalmunai, spokesman Sumith Atapattu said.
"In our retaliatory fire, two gunmen were killed," he said adding that a civilian caught in the crossfire was also killed.
Police also found explosives during a raid in the town of Ampara Sainthamaruthu near Batticaloa in search for those responsible for the Easter Sunday suicide bombings that killed 253, added Reuters.
''A search found explosives used to produce bombs, IS uniforms, curtains with IS logo, 150 gelignite sticks, 100,000 metal balls and a drone camera from a house in Samanthurai," a spokesman said, referring to a separate search operation. No details of casualties were immediately available.
Bombings police have been conducting raids across the country to find more details about the perpetrators and their supporters, the report added.
Nearly 10,000 soldiers were deployed across the Indian Ocean island state to carry out searches and provide security for religious centres, the military said on Friday.
Islamic State has claimed responsibility but provided no evidence to back its claim that it was behind the attacks. If true, it would be one of the worst attacks carried out by the group outside Iraq and Syria.
(With inputs from agencies)