US warns of attack threat in Sri Lanka surf haven popular with Israeli tourists

In a rare notice of an imminent threat, the embassy said it had “received credible information warning of an attack targeting popular tourist locations” in eastern Arugam Bay.

The warning comes after social media posts called for a boycott of Israeli-owned businesses in the area.

Israelis accounted for less than 1.5 per cent of the 1.5 million tourists who visited the island in the first nine months of this year – or around 20,000 people altogether.

But Arugam Bay, a hotspot for surfing around 400km (250 miles) east of Colombo by road, is a popular destination for Israeli tourists.