Sri Lankan Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe said yesterday that he believed Easter Sunday attacks in the country had links to the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS), after the militant group claimed responsibility for the bombings in which over 300 were killed.

Eight or nine members of the National Thowheeth Jama'ath, the home-grown terror group believed to have carried out the attack, are on the run and could be armed, said Mr Wickremesinghe.

State Minister of Defence Ruwan Wijewardene told Parliament that the attacks were carried out by the extremists in retaliation for the mosque attacks in Christchurch.

Police are on the lookout for vehicles that are suspected to be carrying more explosives and have been given emergency powers to detain and question suspects without a court order.