COLOMBO, Sri Lanka — International drug syndicates orchestrated Sri Lanka’s deadly Easter Sunday bombings, the country’s leader claimed Monday, despite earlier blaming the attacks on Islamists. The statement comes amid a nationwide narcotics crackdown, with President Maithripala Sirisena aiming to reintroduce capital punishment for drug offenses. Sirisena’s office said the day after the bombings that local terrorists and international terror groups were responsible for the attacks. Sirisena is waging a battle against efforts by his governing coalition in parliament to abolish capital punishment, which has been subject to a moratorium since 1976. Sri Lanka’s last hangman retired in 2014, but officials said they had selected two new executioners from a pool of candidates.

Source: Philippine Daily Inquirer July 15, 2019 11:48 UTC