Sri Lanka is on alert for attacks by uniformed militants

Sri Lankan security officials warned that the Islamist militants behind the deadly suicide bombings of Easter Sunday planned more attacks in the near future, using a van and bombers disguised in military uniforms.

“There could be another wave of attacks,” the head of ministerial security division (MSD), a unit of the police, said in a letter to lawmakers and other security sections, seen by Reuters on Monday.

“The relevant information further notes that persons dressed in military uniforms and using a van could be involved in the attacks,” the letter said.

It said the militants were targeting five locations for attacks on Sunday or Monday.

There were no attacks on Sunday, and security across Sri Lanka has been ramped up, with scores of suspected Islamists arrested since the April 21 attacks on hotels and churches that killed over 250 people, including 40 foreign nationals.

Authorities suspect members of two little known groups – National Thawheedh Jamaath (NTJ) and Jammiyathul Millathu Ibrahim – of carrying out those attacks, though Islamic State has claimed responsibility.