Bombings in Western Province could have been prevented : Ex-STF Commandant

COLOMBO (News1st): Former Special Task Force commandant M.R. Latiff has said the bombings in the Western Province on April 21 last year could have been prevented if he was informed about the warnings of the attacks. In a testimony at the presidential commission probing the bombings, the witness said he was not informed about foreign intelligence warnings of an attack that were received on April 20 last year. He said that the State Intelligence Service director, police chief, and the defence secretary at the time did not convey the warnings when he contacted them after returning from an overseas training programme on April 19. The former STF Commandant said that the foreign intelligence warnings received on the 4th of April last year, consists of both operational and actionable intelligence matters. He added that the Special Task Force could have dispatched a team to take the relevant action, if a request had been received by his unit.