Country Report on Terrorism 2024 - Chapter 1 - Sri Lanka

Country Overview:  The Sri Lankan government continued to prioritize countering illicit financing and strengthening counterterrorism institutions.  In May, Indian police arrested four Sri Lankans who had previously traveled to India, accusing them of being linked to ISIS-K.  The Sri Lankan government introduced the Anti-Terrorism Bill in 2023 to replace the Prevention of Terrorism Act (PTA), but Parliament did not pass it before the November 2024 legislative elections.  Sri Lanka publicly committed to amending the PTA or replacing it with an improved counterterrorism bill.

In January, Sri Lanka’s Online Safety Act became law, allowing the regulation of online content, its removal, denial of access, and punishment of users.  Sri Lanka’s Financial FIU signed MOUs addressing terrorist financing with the Sri Lanka Excise Department, the Registrar General’s Department, the National Secretariat for Non-Governmental Organizations, and the Bahrain Financial Intelligence National Center in 2024.  The FIU imposed a $6,000 administrative penalty on a Sri Lankan commercial bank for issues under UNSC resolution 1373.

Sri Lanka joined the Combined Maritime Forces-Bahrain, the U.S.-led multinational maritime security partnership in the Western Indian Ocean.  In February, Sri Lanka deployed a vessel to support Operation Prosperity Guardian, the U.S.-led operation in the Red Sea to counter attacks on international shipping by the Houthis.

2024 Terrorism Trends:  The Government of Sri Lanka disrupted a planned IRGC-linked terrorist mass shooting attack targeting Israeli tourists in October.  Sri Lankan police arrested local suspects, but the chief plotter was believed to be in Iran.  The planned attack was linked to the IRGC and an IRGC asset, Afghan national Farhad Shakeri, who was instructed by the IRGC to carry out the attack.  Sri Lankan police arrested local suspects, but Shakeri was believed to be in Iran.  The U.S. Justice Department charged Shakeri, along with two United States-based accomplices, for their involvement in the terrorist plot.

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