World Edited by Stela Dey, Swati Bhasin
Sri Lanka Blasts: Suicide bombers were involved in at least two of the eight attacks and seven people have been arrested in connection to the deadly attacks.
Sri Lanka Blasts: The blasts hit several high-end hotels and one church in the capital.
In a series of eight devastating bomb blasts ripped through high-end hotels and churches holding Easter services in Sri Lanka on Sunday, killing at least 207 people, including dozens of foreigners. Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe condemned the attacks -- the worst act of violence since the end of Sri Lanka's civil war a decade ago -- as "cowardly", as the government imposed an immediate and indefinite curfew across the entire country of 21 million people.
The powerful blasts -- six in quick succession and then two more hours later -- left hundreds injured and wrought devastation, including at the capital's well-known St Anthony's Shrine, a historic Catholic Church.
At least two of the explosions were carried out by suicide bombers, according to police sources and a hotel official, and police spokesman Ruwan Gunasekera said the authorities were investigating whether suicide attackers were involved in all eight of them.
Seven people have been arrested in connection to the deadly attacks, the defence minister of Sri Lanka said.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi condemned the attack on the hotels and churches on Easter and said such "barbarism has no place in the region". "Strongly condemn the horrific blasts in Sri Lanka. There is no place for such barbarism in our region. India stands in solidarity with the people of Sri Lanka. My thoughts are with the bereaved families and prayers with the injured," PM Modi tweeted.
Here are the updates on Sri Lanka bomb blasts:
We strongly condemn the horrific blasts in Sri Lanka. India stands united with the people of Sri Lanka in this collective fight against terrorism.
My heart goes out to the families who have lost their dear ones.
Indian Woman Killed in Sri Lanka blasts:
A Kerala woman holidaying in Colombo was among those killed in the bombings authorities said.
Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan expressed condolences over the death of 58-year-old P.S. Razeena, who arrived in the Sri Lankan capital along with her husband to meet their relatives engaged in business in Colombo.
Razeena and her husband, who are from Kasargode in Kerala, live in Dubai and were staying at one of the three hotels in Colombo targeted on Sunday by suicide bombers.
A spokesperson for the state agency of the Kerala diaspora told the media that they were talking to the Indian High Commissioner's office in Colombo to see that Razeena's body was brought to Kerala.
''Pieces of flesh thrown all over Sri Lankan church after blast''
The St. Sebastian's Church in the western coastal town of Negombo bore the brunt of a series of powerful blasts across Sri Lanka on Easter Sunday, with a top priest saying pieces of flesh were thrown all over the walls, on the sanctuary and even outside the church.
Father Edmond Tillekeratne, social communications director for the Archdiocese of Colombo, spoke to CNN from St. Sebastian''s Church, one of the locations targeted.
He said that the blast took place after Easter Mass, and that there were about 30 bodies lying in the area of the church.
He said three priests had been celebrating the mass at the time of the blast. Two of them were badly injured by flying glass and debris, and one was only lightly injured because he was behind the altar.
Sri Lanka's most senior Catholic figure called Sunday on the government to find the attackers behind deadly blasts that killed more than 160 people and "punish them mercilessly".
"I would also like to ask the government to hold a very impartial strong inquiry and find out who is responsible behind this act and also to punish them mercilessly, because only animals can behave like that," Cardinal Malcolm Ranjith, the archbishop of Colombo, told reporters.
Cardinal Ranjith expressed his "deepest sorrow and sympathy" for those affected by the attacks and urged national unity.
"I ask all our Sri Lankan people not to take the law into their own hands and to maintain peace and harmony in this country," he said.
Seven suspects have been arrested in connection to the blast, Sri Lanka Defence Minister has confirmed.
The near-simultaneous blasts targeting three churches and as many luxury hotels in Sri Lanka on Easter Sunday may have an "adverse impact" on the upcoming summer holiday season in the country, a well-known tourist destination, tour operators and hoteliers said.
A string of near simultaneous blasts struck three churches and luxury hotels frequented by foreigners in Sri Lanka on Easter Sunday, killing more than 160 people and injuring over 450 others, shattering a decade of peace in the country after the end of the brutal civil war with the LTTE.
India is the largest source market for Sri Lanka, which received 2.3 million tourists from around the world in 2018.
Around 450,000 Indian tourists visited Sri Lanka last year and the island nation was expecting the total Indian tourist arrivals to cross one million mark in 2019.
The explosions at the start of the travel season is likely to impact the annual tourist footfalls. The tourism authorities said they were worried that the attacks will affect the industry in the coming months.
The Goa government Sunday beefed up security at the churches across the state following a
string of blasts in Sri Lanka that killed over 160 people earlier in the day.
Talking to reporters, Chief Minister Pramod Sawant said he has given instructions to state Director General of Police Pranab Nanda to step up security around the churches.
"Security has already been tightened around the churches. I will also be talking to the Archbishop of Goa seeking his help to ensure security of churches," he said.
"Goa needs to take extra precaution as the number of churches in the state is more," Sawant said while condemning the blasts in Sri Lanka.
Source:NDTV.
Source:NDTV.