Colombo: Sri Lankan President Maithripala Sirisena on Wednesday asked Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi to “leave my country alone” after the dreaded Islamic State (IS) leader claimed the massive suicide bombings in the island nation was a revenge attack for the fall of the Syrian town of Baghuz, the terror group’s final bastion.
Sirisena also warned it may be possible IS had launched a “new strategy” by targeting smaller countries, Sky News on Wednesday quoted him as saying.
He said authorities were aware of a “small group” of Lankans who had travelled abroad to receive training from IS over the past decade. In the Sky News interview, President Sirisena said he had a message for IS: “Leave my country alone.” On Monday, Islamic State’s media network published a video message purporting to come from its leader, Baghdadi.
The man in the IS propagada video, said to be Baghdadi referred to the deadly Easter Sunday attack in Lanka and to the months-long fight for IS’s final bastion Baghouz, which concluded in March. “The battle for Baghouz is over,” he said. “God ordered us to wage jihad. He did not order us to win,” he said. In a segment where Baghdadi is not seen, his voice referred to the April 21 attacks in Lanka as “vengeance for their brothers in Baghouz”.
Meanwhile, PM Ranil Wickremesinghe said the whole world should be on alert following the threat by the eluvsive IS leader. “Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi said his organisation is ready to attack any city in the world at any moment. This is a threat to the entire world. All countries should see their defence forces are on alert,” he said.
