(Newswire.net— April 22, 2019) — The number of deaths in recent synchronized bomber attacks in Sri Lanka has risen to 290, while more than 500 people were injured. Among the victims the vast majority are Christians, foreign tourists and the local population, who were celebrating Catholic Easter.
A local Sri Lanka TV station has reported that 35 foreigners that were killed in the attacks have come from eight countries: the USA, Denmark, China, Japan, Morocco, Pakistan, India and Bangladesh. Sri Lankan Foreign Affairs Minister also said that three people from India were killed, one from Portugal, two from Turkey and three from the United Kingdom.
What we know so far:
– The targets of attack were three churches and four hotels
– The number of victims has reached 290, but is expected to rise
– In just one church the blast killed more than 50 people, police officials have confirmed
– For now, no one has taken responsibility for the attack
– 20 people have been arrested in connection with the attack.
Several hours after a series of explosions shook Sri Lanka, police have found an improvised bomb at the main airport in that country, Russia Today reports. A ninth explosive device, a six-foot PVC pipe bomb found at Colombo International Airport in Sri Lanka, has been successfully defused.
The bomb was discovered during a routine control of the airport in Colombo and destroyed in a safe manner with controlled exposure.
The White House condemned the attacks, stating that the United States “supports the government and the people of Sri Lanka in their efforts to bring justice to the perpetrators of this terrible and negligent act.”
One of the terrorists from Sri Lanka was staying in a five-star hotel in Colombo, waiting in line for a breakfast buffet. He held a plate and was just about to be served before he detonated explosives strapped to his body that killed at least 207 people, The Telegraph UK reports.
The hotel manager of Cinammon Grand said that a terrible explosion in a crowded restaurant detonated at 8.30, the most crowded hour in the hotel.
“It was 8.30, plenty of families and crowds. He came to the end of the line and activated an explosive.” the manager said.
Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe says there appears to have been prior information about a possible attack. He said the intel on a possible attack never reached him which is a serious matter he will personally look into. “For now the priority is to apprehend the attackers,” Wickremesinghe told reporters.
Currently, no terrorist group has claimed responsibility for the attacks in a country that has been caught up in civil wars for decades and has clashed with Tamil separatists until 2009 when reportedly suppressed by government forces.