News Desk
– 207 people killed, mostly locals and at least 32 foreigners
– 450 wounded
– Eight blasts in all, most suspected to be suicide attacks, in Colombo, Negombo and Batticaloa
– Six nearly simultaneous blasts in three churches – St Anthony’s Shrine in Colombo, St Sebastian’s Church in Negombo and Zion Church in Batticaloa – where worshippers were celebrating Easter and in three luxury hotels – the Shangri-La, Kingsbury Colombo Hotel and the Cinnamon Grand Colombo – frequented by foreign tourists
– Hours later, a blast at a guesthouse, the Tropical Inn in Colombo, kills at least two
– The eighth explosion is in a house in the area of Dematagoda on the outskirts of Colombo, killing three police officers who went to question suspects following a tip-off
– No one has taken responsibility for the attacks but seven suspects have been arrested
– The government admits it had prior information of a possible attack and attention is turning to an Islamist group; a minister earlier said it was a terrorist attack by religious extremists
– The attacks are the worst chaos Sri Lanka has seen since a bloody civil war ended a decade ago
– A nationwide curfew imposed from 6pm Sunday to 6am Monday, access to social media and messaging sites including Facebook and WhatsApp blocked
– Sri Lankan Airlines tells passengers they will be able to make their flights out by showing tickets and passports at checkpoints, and to arrive four hours before their scheduled flights
– Security has been stepped up at the international airport
THE VICTIMS SO FAR:
Majority of the dead are locals but among them are at least 32 foreigners including Americans, Bangladeshis, Belgian, Japanese, Indians, and Pakistanis.
5 Britons, two of them dual US nationals
3 Indians.