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COLOMBO. – Sri Lanka has imposed a ban on women wearing face coverings in public in the wake of the Easter Sunday terror atrocities. The ruling comes amid warnings of further attacks by terrorists disguised in military uniform.

The authorities used emergency powers to introduce the ban with immediate effect on Monday. President Maithripala Sisirsena said he was imposing restrictions on any facial garment which “hinders identification”.

The ban comes a week after it was first proposed by one of the country’s MPs. The move has also been backed by the All Ceylon Jamiyyathul Ulama, an organisation of Muslim clerics in Sri Lanka.

Previously, ISIS fighters have dressed as women in a bid to evade justice and escape territory the militant group once held.

Security services in the country said they have received intelligence that terrorists dressed in military uniform could target five sites using a vehicle. One of the new targets identified by intelligence services is the eastern city of Batticaloa, where 27 people lost their lives in a suicide attack on one of its churches last week.

It comes just eight days after the suicide attacks on churches and hotels which killed more than 250 people, including 40 foreign citizens. It was the deadliest attack yet conducted by terrorists in Sri Lanka.

Authorities suspect members of two little-known groups – National Tawheed Jamaat (NTJ) and Jammiyathul Millathu Ibrahim – are behind the attacks, though ISIS has claimed responsibility. It released a video of eight of its alleged members pledging allegiance to leader Abu Bakr Al Baghdadi.

Security has been increased across the country and police are continuing to conduct random body checks and searches. The government has declared a state of emergency and deployed thousands of troops for search operations against Islamist extremists since the coordinated attacks.

More than 150 people have been arrested since April 21.

On Sunday night, a curfew imposed after the bombings was lifted for the first time. – The National (UAE)