Colombo, April 22 (IANS) The government on Monday blamed a Sri Lankan Muslim group for the serial bombings that killed 290 people in the country on Easter Sunday and said the attacks were "a colossal intelligence failure".

The National Thowheed Jamath (NTJ) carried out the eight explosions across three cities in Sri Lanka, also injuring over 500 people, the government told the media.

Health Minister Rajitha Senaratne said: "National Thowheed Jamath was involved. It is a local organisation. We don't know whether they are linked to outsiders. All those arrested are locals."

Senaratne, who was addressing the media along with other Ministers, called the well-planned attacks a "colossal intelligence failure" and stated that despite receiving prior information, the attacks could not be prevented.

--IANS mr/in/soni