At least 207 people were killed and hundreds more wounded in a series of bomb blasts that hit luxury hotels and churches across Sri Lanka on Easter Sunday, leaving the entire country in a state of lock-down.
The first wave of attacks struck at the heart of the country’s minority Christian community during busy Easter services at churches in the cities of Colombo, Negombo and Batticaloa on Sunday morning.
Additional blasts ripped through three high-end hotels, the Shangri La, Cinnamon Grand and Kingsbury, all in capital city Colombo.
The violence punctures a decade of relative peace in the country, following the end of its civil war in 2009, where attacks were common during the 25-year struggle.
In a statement, the Shangri-La hotel in Colombo said that the hotel’s Table One cafe was hit just after 9 a.m local time. The hotel is popular with foreign tourists and the country’s business community.
A seventh and eighth blast, at a hotel in front of the Dehiwala Zoo in Dehiwala-Mount Lavinia and at a private house in Mahawila Gardens, in Dematagoda, occurred Sunday afternoon.
Sri Lanka’s Minister of Economic Reforms and Public Distribution Harsha de Silva said on Twitter that “close to 30 foreigners” were killed on Sunday.
In the capital, Colombo, at least 20 foreigners are among the dead, according to hospital Director General Anil Jasinghe.
Two Turkish citizens and one Dutch national are among the dead.
The British High Commissioner to Sri Lanka, James Dauris, said some British citizens were also “caught in the blast.”
Seven people are under arrest following the attacks, De Silva wrote after an emergency meeting with defense officials.
There was however, no immediate claim of responsibility. Sri Lankan security officials said police and security services immediately rushed to all affected areas and sealed off the churches and hotels.
Meanwhile, the Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari has condemned the attack.
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