PM Modi visits church, pays tribute to Easter terror strikes victims

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday visited a church – one of the sites of the horrific Easter Sunday attacks – soon after his arrival here and paid tributes to the victims of the terror strikes, expressing India’s affirmation of solidarity with Sri Lanka in the wake of the attacks.

“Started the Sri Lanka visit by paying my respect at one of the sites of the horrific Easter Sunday Attack, St. Anthonys Shrine, Kochchikade. My heart goes out to the families of the victims and the injured,” Modi tweeted.

I am confident Sri Lanka will rise again.

Cowardly acts of terror cannot defeat the spirit of Sri Lanka.

India stands in solidarity with the people of Sri Lanka pic.twitter.com/n8PA8pQnoJ

— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) June 9, 2019

Nine suicide bombers carried out a series of devastating blasts that tore through St Anthony’s Church in Colombo, St Sebastian’s Church in the western coastal town of Negombo and another church in the eastern town of Batticaloa, and three high-end hotels frequented by tourists in the country’s deadliest violence since the devastating civil war ended in 2009.

The Islamic State has claimed the attacks, but the government has blamed local Islamist extremist group National Thawheed Jamaath (NTJ) for the bombings.

“I am confident Sri Lanka will rise again. Cowardly acts of terror cannot defeat the spirit of Sri Lanka. India stands in solidarity with the people of Sri Lanka,” said Modi, the first foreign leader to visit Sri Lanka after the Easter attacks.

His visit is considered as a sign of India’s affirmation of solidarity with Sri Lanka in the wake of the deadly Easter terror attacks.