India offers Sri Lanka support to jointly fight terror elements

India has offered full support to Sri Lanka in dealing with the "common threat" of Jihadi terrorism in the aftermath of the April 21 Easter bombings that killed more than 250 people.

India's high commissioner to Sri Lanka Taranjit Singh Sandhu made the offer during his recent meeting with two top-ranking Buddhist monks at Sri Dalada Maligawa or the temple of the Sacred Tooth Relic in Kandy.

The Indian mission in Sri Lanka said in a release, "High Commissioner....discussed the prevailing security situation with the Most Venerable Mahanayake theros and offered India's full support to Sri Lanka in dealing with the common threat of Jihadi terrorism."

This is the first time India has publicly aired his intention to help the neighbouring country amid a crackdown by Sri Lanka authorities on Islamic extremist groups.

The release added, "Both the Mahanayake Theros deeply appreciated India's unconditional and strong support for Sri Lanka including in the security sphere."

New Delhi had shared with Colombo inputs about impending terror attacks in the island nation, but Sri Lanka could not act on the intelligence owing to its internal political feud.

Following the attacks, India's National Investigation agency had raided several places in Kerala and arrested Riyas Aboobacker from Palakkad who was apparently inspired by Lanka terror attack mastermind Zahran Hashim. Riyas allegedly had planned to carry out suicide attacks in Kerala.

While Lanka-based National Thowheed Jamaath is believed to have planned and perpetrated the attacks, the Islamic State later claimed responsibility for the strike.