The ex-president of Sri Lanka and former intelligence leaders should be held accountable for failing to prevent the 2019 attacks that left 279 people dead, AFP reported.

The investigation revealed that Maithripala Sirisena, who left office last year, was negligent. After the attacks, it turned out that Indian intelligence had warned the Sri Lankan authorities 17 days before the attack after a suspect had been put in.

A presidential commission of inquiry report says the balance of likelihood is that the intelligence chief informed Sirisene of the warnings ahead of the attacks. The commission, which heard 440 witnesses and handed its report to parliament on Tuesday, said the attorney general should consider opening a criminal case against the former president under any appropriate provision of the Penal Code.

Sirisena, now an MP from the ruling party, previously denied knowing about the warnings.

The investigation also revealed that former intelligence chief Nilantha Jayawardena was criminally liable for failing to act on warnings from Indian intelligence. The report said Jayawardena eased the weight of intelligence from India.

Former Inspector General of Police Pujit Jayasundara should also be prosecuted for negligence.

The report says the coordinated bombings were funded by the family of a local spice merchant, whose two sons were among the suicide bombers.

Two days after the attack, ISIS claimed responsibility, but investigators say they have not found a direct link between local jihadists and ISIS.