US denies providing intelligence on Easter attacks

This comes amidst what the Sri Lankan government minister Harsha de Silva said Monday that advance intelligence had been provided by "both India and the United States."

"We had no prior knowledge of these attacks," US Ambassador to Sri Lanka Alaina Teplitz was quoted as saying by the CNN.

At least four Americans were killed in the attacks.

She said, "the Sri Lankan government has admitted lapses in their intelligence gathering and information sharing."

When asked her about de Silva's claim, Teplitz responded, "Well I can't speak for others. I don't know what other sources of information the government of Sri Lanka might have had. I can just tell you that we had no prior knowledge."

Sri Lankan authorities have started an investigation into how warnings about possible attacks were not passed to top ministers.

Nine suicide bombers, including a woman, were involved in the massive Easter Sunday bombings and 60 people have been arrested so far for their suspected links to Sri Lanka's worst terror attack that killed at least 359 people.

Suicide bombers, believed to be members of local Islamist extremist group, carried out a series of devastating blasts that tore through churches and luxury hotels in Sri Lanka on Sunday.

Though the National Tawheed Jamath (NJT) blamed by the Sri Lankan government has not claimed responsibility for the attacks, the Islamic State said the bombers owing allegiance to the terror group carried out the strikes.