State of Emergency declared Sri Lanka detains three additional Maldivians amidst clashes between police and extremist forces.
According to local media Mihaaru, the three individuals allegedly residing in Sri Lanka were arrested around 100 km away from Colombo, while they were attempting to purchase a motorcycle.
They were escorted to the Meetiyagoda Police Station. The station has confirmed that three Maldivians were arrested but refused to divulge further information.
However, a spokesperson of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs denied the claims and stated that police have yet to confirm the arrests, adding that no Maldivians were arrested in relation to the terror attacks so far.
Recently, two senior activists of Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP), Funama Adam Manik and Baikandi Hassan Manik, were detained not long after they entered Sri Lanka for medical purposes, after the Lankan police reportedly found the book 'Black Flags: The Rise of ISIS' in their residence.
According to local media reports, the non-fiction book by an American journalist detailing the rise of the IS militant group, belongs to the owner of the house where Adam Manik and Hassan Manik were staying. The owner is said to be currently in capital Male'.
Sri Lankan police had also arrested four Maldivian students last weekend after finding drugs and an unlicensed air gun in their residence. However, the four of them were released on Monday.
The IS claimed responsibility for the string of bomb blasts across Sri Lanka, which killed over 250 people and injured 500 others on April 21. The authorities have since launched a mass crackdown to inspect residences across the country.
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