FILE PHOTO: Sri Lanka's President Maithripala Sirisena prays during a special party convention in Colombo, Sri Lanka December 4, 2018. REUTERS/Dinuka Liyanawatte

COLOMBO (Reuters) - Sri Lanka President Maithripala Sirisena on Tuesday said he expects to change the heads of the country’s defense forces within a day following their failure to prevent suicide bombs that killed over 300 people, despite the fact they had prior information about the attacks.

“I will completely restructure the police and security forces in the coming weeks. I expect to change the heads of defense establishments within next 24 hours,” Sirisena said a televised address to the nation.

“The security officials who got the intelligence report from a foreign nation did not share it with me. Appropriate actions would have been taken. I have decided to take stern action against these officials.”