Interpol is sending a team to Sri Lanka to help national authorities investigate the Easter bomb attacks that left nearly 300 dead and approximately 500 injured.
Interpol will deploy its Incident Response Team (IRT), which includes specialists with expertise in crime scene examination, explosives, counter-terrorism, disaster victim identification, and analysis. They are already checking stolen and lost travel documents to identify potential investigative leads and international connections.
“As the Sri Lankan authorities investigate these horrific attacks, Interpol will continue to provide whatever support is necessary,” Interpol Secretary General Jürgen Stock said. “Information to help identify individuals linked to these attacks could come from anywhere in the world, which is where Interpol’s global network and databases can prove vital, especially for officers on the ground.”
Interpol is also providing support through its 24-hour Command and Coordination Centre (CCC) at its General Secretariat headquarters in Lyon, France, as well as in Singapore and Buenos Aires.
“The families and friends of the victims of these bombings, as with every terrorist attack, require and deserve the full support of the global law enforcement community,” Stock said.
The CCC can also serve as a liaison to the Interpol National Central Bureaus of the involved countries to ensure any data is exchanged as quickly as possible.