The Sri Lankan government has confirmed that it had “prior information” about the series of church bombings which have killed at least 207 people and injured 450.

Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe confirmed that security services had conveyed “prior information of the attack” to the government, but said that ministers had not been informed.

The confirmation follows reports by the AFP news agency that Sri Lanka’s top police chief Pujuth Jayasundara had issued an alert to authorities warning that suicide bombers planned to hit churches. Here’s the alert, as reported by AFP:

A foreign intelligence agency has reported that the NTJ is planning to carry out suicide attacks targeting prominent churches as well as the Indian high commission in Colombo.

‘NTJ’ refers to National Thowheeth Jama’ath, an Islamist group in Sri Lanka. At present there is no confirmation as to who is behind the attacks.

Sri Lankan Defence Minister Ruwan Wijewardena confirmed that the bombings were “terrorist attacks” perpetrated by religious extremists, but that there had been no immediate claim of responsibility.

PM Wickremesinghe said that there had not been a proper response to the alert, and he indicated a desire to set up an inquiry into why the information slipped through the cracks.

Earlier, the Sri Lankan government took up the line of urging people to not spread false or unconfirmed information. Social media has temporarily been blocked in the country ostensibly to prevent the flow of unverified information.

I strongly condemn the cowardly attacks on our people today. I call upon all Sri Lankans during this tragic time to remain united and strong. Please avoid propagating unverified reports and speculation. The government is taking immediate steps to contain this situation. — Ranil Wickremesinghe (@RW_UNP) April 21, 2019

Sri Lankan Catholic Church Cardinal Malcolm Ranjith described the attacks as “a very, very sad day for all of us”.