<p>Sri Lankan court on Thursday extended till February 12 the remand of 61 people arrested in connection with the deadly Easter Sunday bombings.</p>.<p>All the 61 suspects are members of the local Islamist extremist group, National Thawheed Jamaath (NTJ), police said.</p>.<p>The Batticaloa High Court extended their remand till February 12, they said.</p>.<p>Nine suicide bombers on April 21 last year carried out a series of blasts that tore through three churches and as many high-end hotels, killing 258 people, including Indians, in Lanka's deadliest violence since the brutal civil war ended in 2009.</p>.<p>The Islamic State claimed the attacks, but the government blamed the NTJ for the bombings. Nearly 300 suspects have been arrested so far.</p>.<p>A state of emergency was clamped in the country for a period of four months from April to August.</p>.<p>Earlier this week, police recorded the statement of former prime minister Ranil Wickremesinghe on the bombings.</p>.<p>The government headed jointly by Wickremesinghe and then president Maithripala Sirisena was blamed for failing to prevent the island's worst terror attack despite prior intelligence.</p>
<p>Sri Lankan court on Thursday extended till February 12 the remand of 61 people arrested in connection with the deadly Easter Sunday bombings.</p>.<p>All the 61 suspects are members of the local Islamist extremist group, National Thawheed Jamaath (NTJ), police said.</p>.<p>The Batticaloa High Court extended their remand till February 12, they said.</p>.<p>Nine suicide bombers on April 21 last year carried out a series of blasts that tore through three churches and as many high-end hotels, killing 258 people, including Indians, in Lanka's deadliest violence since the brutal civil war ended in 2009.</p>.<p>The Islamic State claimed the attacks, but the government blamed the NTJ for the bombings. Nearly 300 suspects have been arrested so far.</p>.<p>A state of emergency was clamped in the country for a period of four months from April to August.</p>.<p>Earlier this week, police recorded the statement of former prime minister Ranil Wickremesinghe on the bombings.</p>.<p>The government headed jointly by Wickremesinghe and then president Maithripala Sirisena was blamed for failing to prevent the island's worst terror attack despite prior intelligence.</p>