Harin Fernando, the Sri Lankan Minister of Telecommunications, Foreign Employment and Sports, said that several intelligence officers were warned of the Easter Sunday attacks as early as April 11, 2019. He tweeted:

Some intelligence officers were aware of this incidence. Therefore there was a delay in action. What my father heard was also from an intelligence officer. Serious action need to be taken as to why this warning was ignored. I was in Badulla last night.

Some intelligence officers were aware of this incidence. Therefore there was a delay in action. What my father heard was also from an intelligence officer. Serious action need to be taken as to why this warning was ignored. I was in Badulla last night pic.twitter.com/ssJyItJF1x

— Harin Fernando (@fernandoharin) April 21, 2019

The photographs in Fernando’s tweet show the images of “an internal memo and report by the intelligence police warning of an imminent terror attack by an organisation called National Thawheed Jamath.”

The Daily Mirror LK reports:

The letter signed by the Sri Lanka’s Deputy Inspector General of Police and dated on April 11 was addressed to a number of key officials in the security services including the Directors of the Ministerial Security Division (MSD), Former Presidents’ Security Division and the Ambassadors Security Division.

The letter titled “Information of an alleged plan attack” said the state intelligence services had received information from a foreign intelligence service to the effect that Mohammed Zahran, the leader of National Thowheed Jamath was about to launch a suicide bomb attack in Sri Lanka targeting famous catholic churches and the Indian High Commission.

In the letter, the Deputy Inspector General requested the concerned authorities to pay attention to the information and to beef up the security provided to VIP personnel and to the locations.

There  is no further information available as to why this warning appeared to be ignored or minimized by administration officials. I will provide an update if further information becomes available.