The State Department issued new guidance Friday urging U.S. citizens to leave Sri Lanka in the wake of a terrorist attack last Easter Sunday on churches and luxury hotels that killed more than 250 people.
The message, which urged the voluntary departure of all U.S. citizens from the country, also mandated all school-age family members of U.S. government employees to leave Sri Lanka.
“Terrorist groups continue plotting possible attacks in Sri Lanka. Terrorists may attack with little or no warning, targeting tourist locations, transportation hubs, markets, shopping malls, government facilities, hotels, clubs, restaurants, places of worship, parks, major sporting and cultural events, educational institutions, airports, hospitals, and other public areas,” the State Department said on its website.
The guidance came the same day as a Sri Lankan raid on a suspected militant hideout that killed at least 15 people.
The raid on the country’s eastern coast followed a shootout nearby after which authorities found explosives, detonators, “suicide kits,” military uniforms and ISIS flags.
ISIS has claimed responsibility for the attack, though local extremist group National Tawheed Jamath (NTJ) has been blamed for Sunday’s bombings.
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JUST IN: State Department urges US citizens to leave Sri Lanka https://t.co/P8qixHL5bQ pic.twitter.com/NWFdE747w5
— The Hill (@thehill) April 27, 2019
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