Suicide bombers went to Kashmir, Kerala to train: Sri Lanka Army chief

Agencies
May 4, 2019

Colombo, May 4: Sri Lanka Army's chief has said that some of the suicide bombers who carried out the country's worst terror attack on Easter Sunday visited Kashmir and Kerala for "some sorts of training" or to "make some more links" with other foreign outfits.

It is the first time that a top Sri Lankan security official has confirmed the militants' visit to India which had shared intelligence inputs with Colombo ahead of the attack.

Nine suicide bombers, including a woman, carried out a series of devastating blasts that tore through three churches and three luxury hotels on April 21, killing 253 people and injuring over 500 others.

In an interview to BBC, Lieutenant General Mahesh Senanayake, Commander of the Army, divulged some details on the movements of the suspects in the region and also international links.

"They (the suspects) have gone to India, they've gone to Kashmir, Bangalore, they've travelled to Kerala state. Those are the information available with us," he said.

Asked what activities they were doing in Kashmir and Kerala, the Army chief said: "Not exactly, but definitely in some sorts of training or to make some more links towards the other organisations outside the country".

The Islamic State terror group claimed the attacks, but the government blamed local Islamist extremist group National Thowheeth Jamaath (NTJ).

Sri Lanka banned the NTJ and arrested over 100 people in connection with the blasts.

About the possibility of an involvement of a foreign group, the Commander said that by looking at the pattern of operation and the places that the suspects travelled, there has to be some outside involvement of some leadership or instructions.

Asked why the threats were not taken more seriously after receiving information from India, Senanayake said: "We had some information and intelligence-sharing, situations and military intelligence on a different direction and the others were different and there was a gap that everybody could see today".

He said that as the Chief of the Army, he believes that everybody who is responsible for intelligence-gathering and the national security is to be blamed, including the political hierarchies.

Asked why Sri Lanka was targeted, the Commander said: "Too much of freedom, too much of peace for the last 10 years. People forget what happened for 30 years. People are enjoying peace and they neglected security".

He was referring to the three-decade civil war with the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) which ended in 2009 after claiming at least 100,000 lives.

"We are deployed on the ground to give confidence to the public and ensure there is no violence or escalation of communal riots in this country. Have trust on the armed forces and the Police of this country who will bring normalcy as soon as possible," the Army chief added.

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News Network
November 30,2025

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Mangaluru, Nov 30: A 22-year-old college student succumbed to her injuries at a private hospital in Mangaluru today, days after she was hit by a goods tempo while crossing a road in Padubidri.

The deceased has been identified as Preksha, a resident of Nadsalu Billitota in Padubidri. The fatal incident occurred as Preksha, who was returning home after completing her examination, attempted to cross the service road towards Mangaluru. She was struck by a goods tempo approaching from the Udupi side, causing her to fall and sustain a severe head injury.

Prompt action from local residents ensured she received immediate first aid before being rushed to a hospital in Mangaluru for specialised treatment. Despite medical efforts, she passed away while undergoing care.

Preksha was a student at Karavali College, Vamanjoor on the outskirts of Mangaluru city. The tragedy is compounded by the fact that she belonged to a financially vulnerable family, having previously lost her father. She is survived by her mother and brother.

A case related to the accident has been registered at the Padubidri police station, and an investigation is underway to determine the exact circumstances that led to the collision. The incident highlights the growing concerns over road safety, particularly on busy service roads, and serves as a tragic reminder of the human cost of traffic accidents.

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coastaldigest.com news network
November 29,2025

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Mangaluru, Nov 29: Around 12,500 healthcare students from Medical, Dental, AYUSH, Pharmacy, Nursing, Physiotherapy and Allied Health Sciences colleges of Dakshina Kannada, affiliated to Rajiv Gandhi University of Health Sciences (RGUHS), took part in a massive walkathon to promote awareness on Organ Donation and Nasha Mukth Bharat.

The inaugural ceremony was held at Mangala Stadium. Dr Bhagavan B C, Hon’ble Vice-Chancellor of RGUHS, delivered the welcome address. The walkathon was flagged off by Shri U T Khader, Hon’ble Speaker of the Karnataka Legislative Assembly, and presided over by Shri Dinesh Gundu Rao, Hon’ble Minister for Health, Family Welfare and Dakshina Kannada District In-charge. Dakshina Kannada MP Shri Brijesh Chowta also addressed the students.

Music director Guru Kiran, MLA Dr Bharat Shetty (Mangalore North), Police Commissioner Shri Sudheer Kumar Reddy, Shri Manjunath Bhandary and Shri Harish Kumar were among those present.

Institution heads including Dr Haji U K Monu (Kanachur Colleges), Dr Shantharam Shetty (Tejaswini College), Dr Bhaskar Shetty (City Group of Colleges), Mr Abdul Rahiman (Kanachur Institute of Medical Sciences), and the District Health Officer, Mangalore, also participated.

The vote of thanks was delivered by Prof U T Ifthikar Fareed, Syndicate Member, RGUHS.

The event was organised by Dr U T Ifthikar Ali and Dr Shiva Sharan (Syndicate Members), Prof Vaishali (Senate Member), Prof Mohammad Suhail (Chairman, BOS Physiotherapy), Dr Sharan Shetty (Former Senate Member), along with principals and faculty of various colleges.

Students marched from Mangala Stadium to Karavali Grounds via MCC and Lalbagh signal. The event set a record as one of the largest gatherings of healthcare students for a social cause in the RGUHS Dakshina Kannada Zone.

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News Network
November 24,2025

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Israeli forces have pushed over the Syrian frontier, erecting a checkpoint and stopping vehicles in the southwestern city of Quneitra, in yet another breach of the Arab country’s sovereignty.

The violation took place on Sunday, when the troops made their way across the border, setting up the outpost near the Ain al-Bayda junction in northern Quneitra, Syrian outlets reported.

According to the al-Ikhbariya paper, an Israeli detachment positioned itself at the junction, halting cars and conducting searches.

The Syrian Arab News Agency (SANA) reported that three Israeli military vehicles then moved further into the northern countryside, deploying between the town of Jubata al-Khashab and the villages of Ofaniya and Ain al-Bayda. The agency added that a separate Israeli unit mounted a new incursion in the central region, approaching the villages of Umm Batina and al-Ajraf.

Residents said such activities have surged in recent months, pointing to Israeli advances onto farmland, leveling of extensive forested areas, arrests, and spread of mobile checkpoints.

The Israeli regime began markedly increasing its military aggression against Syria last year.

The escalation coincided with increasingly ferocious onslaughts throughout the country by the so-called Hay'at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) Takfiri terrorist group, which the government of President Bashar al-Assad had confined to northwestern Syria. The HTS, however, managed to overthrow the government as the Israeli attacks would pummel the country’s civilian and defensive infrastructure.

Various reports have shown that, during the escalation, the regime conducted more than 1,000 airstrikes on the Syrian territory and over 400 ground raids into the south.

Following the collapse of the Assad government, Tel Aviv also widened its grip over the occupied Golan Heights by taking control of a demilitarized buffer zone, in defiance of a 1974 Disengagement Agreement. Earlier this month, senior Israeli officials, including Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, visited the buffer zone, prompting expressions of alarm on the part of the United Nations.

The United States, the regime’s biggest ally, has, meanwhile, been fraternizing the HTS head Abu Mohammed al-Jolani amid the widely reported prospect of rapprochement with Tel Aviv.

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