Sri Lanka police raise security at popular surf site over threat to Israelis

COLOMBO, Sri Lanka (AP) — Police in Sri Lanka have raised security around a popular surfing destination after receiving information about a possible threat to Israeli travelers, a spokesperson said on Wednesday.

Police spokesperson Nihal Thalduwa said special security measures had been put in place at Arugam Bay in the east.

The statement came after the U.S. embassy in Sri Lanka alerted Americans to avoid the Arugam Bay area until further notice due to “credible information warning of an attack targeting popular tourist locations” in that area.

Israel’s government called on its citizens to immediately leave Arugam Bay and other coastal areas in Sri Lanka’s south and west.

Thalduwa said regional police had stepped up security in recent days, increasing road blocks and vehicle checks, and police will put in place security measures around the country to protect tourists who will be visiting for the year-end season.

Sri Lanka is slowly emerging from its worst economic crisis, and the tourism industry has been a main driver of its recovery.

Simultaneous suicide bomb attacks on three tourist hotels and three churches on Easter Sunday in 2019 caused a downturn in the industry and contributed to an economic collapse three years later.

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Associated Press writer Jack Jeffery in Ramallah, West Bank, contributed to this report.