Sri Lanka attack death toll rises to 290

A bishop at the St. Sebastian church – one of the sites targeted in Sri Lanka on Easter Sunday – told CNN he would have never dreamt that his community’s house of worship might be targeted in an attack.

“We never expected such a thing to happen, especially in a place of religious worship,” Bishop JD Anthony said Monday. “This church is in a very rural area so we never expected this to happen here.” 

He suggested the attacker might have chosen the church because of the large number of people who attend the services here. On the morning the bomb went off, more than 1,000 worshipers had gathered for the Easter service.

On Monday, crews were seen clearing the interior of the church with bloodstained pews moved outside.

“We have more than 100 people who were killed on the spot and so many others injured. We are still in an atmosphere of shock.” 

He said they don’t know what to do, “only to pray, that is our most important and powerful weapon.”

“I fear the motive of doing this” might be to increase community tensions, though he added “we never had” this type of attack previously. 

“I couldn’t sleep because of this. Innocent people who came to pray here … they sacrificed their life for god.”

Security personnel stand guard outside St. Anthony's Shrine in Colombo on Monday, a day after the church was hit in series of bomb blasts targeting churches and luxury hotels in Sri Lanka.

The Sri Lankan government has admitted it failed to act on multiple warnings before a coordinated series of attacks ripped through churches and hotels on Easter Sunday, and said it feared an international terror group might have been behind the atrocities.

A government spokesman, Rajitha Senaratne, said multiple warnings were received in the days before the attacks, which killed 290 people and injured at least 500 more. CNN understands that at least one warning referred to Nations Thawahid Jaman (NTJ), a little-known local Islamist group which has previously defaced Buddhist statues.

Senaratne, who is also health minister, said he did not believe a local group could have acted alone. “There must be a wider international network behind it,” he said.

There were also fears of more devices following the attack. A ninth improvised explosive device (IED) was defused near the capital’s Bandaranaike International Airport on Sunday evening. And on Monday, police found 87 detonators in a private terminal of the main bus station in the capital Colombo.

Authorities in Sri Lanka have conducted a controlled detonation of a suspicious vehicle in Colombo on Monday.

Sri Lankan police performed a controlled detonation Monday of a suspicious van near St. Anthony’s church, which was one of the churches targeted in Sunday’s coordinated attacks in Colombo.

CNN’s Ivan Watson is at the scene and described the explosion as “a very big blast” which “knocked down a security officer” and blew out the windows in the street.

Police have pushed onlookers back and established a cordon around the site.

File photograph of Queen Elizabeth II

Britain’s Queen Elizabeth has released a message expressing her sadness over the Sri Lanka Easter Sunday attacks.

Here’s the 93-year-old monarch’s full statement:

Assistant priest Sanjeewa Appuhamy was conducting the Easter Sunday service when a bomb exploded at the St. Sebastian church killing 102 people.

It should have been a normal Sunday service. Hundreds had turned out for Easter Sunday and Sanjeewa Appuhamy, an assistant priest at St. Sebastian’s church, was almost the end of morning’s celebrations. Then a bomb exploded.

“I heard a big noise,” Appuhamy told CNN. He did not see the bomb but when the dust cleared, the church looked like a disaster site.

“Broken glass, dust, all of a sudden covered all the church. People were shouting, weeping, we didn’t know what was happening,” the priest added.

Appuhamy added: “We can build up our church but we cannot build up their lives.”

Sri Lankan authorities investigating the devastating blasts across the country on Easter Sunday have found 87 detonators in the capital.

Ruwan Gunasekara, assistant superintendent of police and spokesperson, told CNN that police found the detonators in a private terminal of the Central Bus Stand in Colombo Monday.

Pope Francis has reiterated his “spiritual and paternal closeness” to the people of Sri Lanka as he concluded an address in St. Peter’s Square, Vatican City, on Monday.

“I hope that everyone condemns this act of terror – inhumane acts that are never justifiable,” the Pope said.

“I pray for the many victims and injured and I ask everyone to not hesitate to offer all the necessary help in front of this dear nation,” he added.

Pope Francis said he was very close to Cardinal Malcolm Ranjith, the Archbishop of Colombo.

In the aftermath of the attack on Sunday, Cardinal Ranjith told reporters: “I’d 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.”

The Pope first offered prayers for victims of the Sri Lanka bombings in his traditional “Urbi et Orbi” address on Sunday.

Sri Lanka has declared a state of emergency will come into effect on Monday from midnight until Tuesday, according to a press release from the president’s media division.

The decision was made by Sri Lanka’s National Security Council, which referenced clauses in the prevention of terrorism under Emergency Regulations.

The government has also proclaimed Tuesday would be a national day of mourning.

The series of deadly attacks in Sri Lanka could deal a significant blow to one of Asia’s fragile economies, which depends heavily on tourism.

Bomb blasts rocked churches and luxury hotels on Easter Sunday, killing at least 290 people and injuring hundreds more.

The island nation in the Indian ocean sees around 2.5 million international travelers enter each year. Data from the World Travel and Tourism Council show that the industry is one of the biggest contributors to the country’s economy, supporting about 1 million jobs. It is also the third largest source of foreign currencies, according to research firm Capital Economics.

Tourism’s importance has grown rapidly in the last 10 years, after the Sri Lankan government defeated the rebel Tamil Tigers organization to end nearly three decades of civil war.

“Tourism has been a big success story for Sri Lanka over the last decade,” said Alex Holmes, Asia economist at Capital Economics.

But international tourists are now likely to stay away. “The violence is likely to hit the tourism industry hard, at least in the short term,” Holmes added.

Read more from CNN Business here:

Related article Deadly attacks spell trouble for Sri Lanka's tourism economy

When the first wave of blasts rocked St. Sebastian Church on Easter Sunday, more than 1,000 people had gathered to celebrate the holiest day in the Christian calendar.

As details start to emerge and the investigation gets underway, residents reveal their shock at being targeted.

No one in this small, close knit Christian community had any reason to expect they might be attacked, or even experienced much hostility ahead of the bombing. 

Minuri, 26, said she was outside the church when the explosion occurred and saw glass and other debris outside the church. 

“We saw people being carried out, the injured,” she said. “We all knew the people who had died, everyone in the community.”

Tape cordons off the church after it was rocked by a blast during a packed service on Easter Sunday.

A local resident living opposite the shrine, who declined to give his name, said his windows were blown out by the blast. 

He said there had not been any threats or other intimidation of the predominantly Christian community here in Katuwapitiya. “It came out of the blue, completely out of the blue,” he added.

Relatives weep near the coffin of 12-year Sneha Savindi, who was a victim of Easter Sunday bombing at St. Sebastian Church, after it returned home on Monday in Negombo, Sri Lanka. 

Sri Lanka’s government has said it will compensate the families of victims caught up in the attacks on Easter Sunday that killed 290 people.

The government will pay one million Rupees, about $5722, to each victim in the attacks and about $572 to pay for the costs of the funeral processions, cabinet spokesperson Rajitha Senaratne, said in a press conference on Monday.

Senaratne also said that the government will pay between $570 to $1,718 to the injured. 

Eight British nationals have been confirmed dead following the Easter Sunday bombings in Sri Lanka, according to a spokesperson for the High Commission of Sri Lanka in the United Kingdom.

“Yesterday we confirmed that five British nationals had died. This morning, we were able to confirm an additional three British nationals had been killed in the attack, bringing the total death toll to eight,” the High Commission spokesperson told CNN Monday. 

The UK Foreign Office has not yet confirmed the deaths. 

White ribbons hang along streets in a sign of mourning.

At a small house outside of Colombo near the St. Sebastian Church hit in Sunday’s attack, grieving relatives are already putting their loved ones to rest.

A green-covered coffin was loaded into an undertaker’s van along with flowers as relatives cried.

A huge number of people in this predominantly Christian part of Sri Lanka had turned out to watch the brief service and pay their respects. A one-lane road thronged with people.

The church in Negombo, north of the capital, was one of the first sites attacked on Easter Sunday. More than 1,000 devotees had turned out for the holiest day in the Christian calendar when a blast tore through the church, killing 102 people.

The press officer of Indian High Commission in Sri Lanka, Niteen Yeola, has released the names of the five Indian victims killed in the Sri Lankan bombing attacks.

The five individuals are: 

Yeola added that there are a few more Indians injured in the attacks, but their names have not been released.

File photograph of Bestseller CEO Anders Holch Povlsen.

Danish businessman Anders Holch Povlsen, the largest shareholder in online clothing retailer ASOS, lost three children in Sunday’s terror attack in Sri Lanka.

“We can confirm that Anders lost three children in the attack,” Jesper Stubkier, Bestseller’s communication manager, said in a phone interview with CNN.

He added that he could not give further information about the victims because he “had to respect the privacy of the family.”

Povlsen is a member of the board of directors of Bestseller, according to the company’s website. Bestseller is the largest shareholder in clothing giant ASOS.

Earlier, Denmark’s Minister of Foreign Affairs Anders Samulesen tweeted that three Danish nationals were killed in the bombings.

In the aftermath of the blasts at eight sites across Sri Lanka on Sunday, the existence of a memo warning of a potential attack has emerged. A police source told CNN the memo was dated April 11, 10 days before tragedy struck.

Sajjan Gohel, international security director for the Asia-Pacific Foundation, tells CNN the memo “could be a vital piece in understanding the network that exists inside Sri Lanka.”

Gohel says the Sri Lankan President does not have a good relationship with the Prime Minister.

“When it comes to what has transpired in the Columbo, Sri Lanka attacks, it shows that lack of information being relayed, it could result in this mass devastation,” he added.

Following a series of coordinated attacks on churches and hotels on Easter Sunday in Sri Lanka, Jagath Abeysinghe, president of the Sri Lanka Red Cross Society, has warned the population not to respond with violence.

In a tweeted statement, Abeysinghe said:

Abeysinghe added that instead people should focus on holding “our leaders accountable.”

“We need to know whether this was an incident that could have been averted? And if so why did it not occur that way?”

Read his full statement here:  

Harsha de Silva, the country’s economic reforms minister, has promised in a tweet that funeral costs for those who died at St. Sebastian’s Church in Negombo will be covered by the government.

He said that 102 people had died at the site.

Two Australians died in the bombings, Prime Minister Scott Morrison told reporters in Melbourne on Monday. They were members of the same family, living in Sri Lanka, he said.

Morrison added that two Australian women had also been injured and were being treated for shrapnel wounds and a broken leg.

Kumar Wickramasinghe, director of Colombo’s National Hospital, was working in the medical ward on Sunday morning when blast victims were first brought in.

The hospital received 263 people in the wake of Sunday’s attacks, he told CNN. Three children are among the wounded receiving intensive care.

The hospital is not in need of supplies, Wickramasinghe said, adding that so many locals came forward to donate blood yesterday that the hospital had to turn some volunteers away.

“We have enough supplies, medicine and others things, but help is always welcome,” he added.

The US State Department has issued a revised travel notice about Sri Lanka, warning that “terrorist groups continue plotting possible attacks in Sri Lanka,” and reminding travelers to exercise caution.

Read the full statement:

Sri Lanka Travel Advisory

Exercise increased caution in Sri Lanka due to terrorism. 

Terrorist groups continue plotting possible attacks in Sri Lanka. Terrorists may attack with little or no warning, targeting tourist locations, transportation hubs, markets/shopping malls, local government facilities, hotels, clubs, restaurants, places of worship, parks, major sporting and cultural events, educational institutions, airports, and other public areas.

Read the Safety and Security section on the country information page.

If you decide to travel to Sri Lanka:

No group has yet claimed responsibility for the attack, and the police investigation is ongoing.

Sri Lanka’s Sajith Premadasa, Minister of Housing Construction and Cultural Affairs, described the Sunday attacks as a “brand new type of terrorism,” after a decade of relative calm.

Sri Lanka’s long civil war between the separatist Tamil Tigers and the government ended in 2009, after claiming between 70,000 and 80,000 lives. Handling that conflict had prepared the government to deal with terrorism, Premadasa said.

“During the 30-year terrorist war there were indiscriminate attacks on all institutions, they (the Tamil Tigers) did not spare any in their path towards a separatist state, but we were victorious in defeating terrorism,” he added.  

Buddhist monks arrive at St. Anthony's Shrine in Colombo, one of the sites attacked on Sunday.

A small group of Buddhist monks in saffron robes arrived at St Anthony’s Shrine in Kochchikade today, where a crowd of onlookers had gathered outside a police and army perimeter. Damage from Sunday blast could still be seen outside the church.

Sri Lanka is a country of great religious diversity that crosses ethnic lines, and the monks’ presence was a sign of this. While Sri Lanka does not have a history of interfaith violence, there have been attacks against Muslims by extremist Buddhist groups in the past.

According to census data, 70.2% of Sri Lankans identify as Buddhist, 12% Hindu, 9.7% Muslim, and 7.4% Christian. It is estimated that 82% of Sri Lankan Christians are Roman Catholic.

Akshat Saraf, 30, was in Colombo’s Shangri-La Hotel with his wife and infant daughter when the explosions struck. They could hear blasts from their room on the 25th floor, the Indian national told CNN.

“First blast was very loud and our room started shaking. At first I thought it was a thunderstorm and I didn’t pay too much attention. It had been raining in Sri Lanka for some time,” he said.

“It was the second blast when I sensed that something was not right.”

He and his family grabbed their passports and took the emergency exit to head to the ground floor.

“It was a horrific sight. When I saw injured guests, they seemed very serious. Some of them [had] junks of glass stuck in their body. I could see some of the chefs in white aprons covered in blood.”

Police, army and emergency services personnel began arriving within five minutes, Saraf said. Guests were evacuated offsite, and then to a nearby shelter with a few hours, he added.

An improvised explosive device was discovered near the road leading to Sri Lanka’s Bandaranaike International Airport last night, Air Force spokesman Gihan Seneviratne told CNN.

The device was found at around 10:15 pm local time, and defused by authorities. Seneviratne said it was packed inside a PVC pipe, and estimated the bomb’s size to be 5.5 to 6 feet long.

Speaking to CNN outside St Anthony’s Shrine, Sister Ramoshini Fernando, a Catholic nun, said that several of her friends and parishioners died in the attack. 

Her father had been near the explosion when it took place, and has been hospitalized with shrapnel wounds, she said.

Fernando said she hoped all Catholics would pull together in the attacks’ aftermath. Wearing a blue robe and a prominent crucifix, Fernando said she was aware she could be a target and did not feel safe.

“I am not afraid to die,” she said, adding she has dedicated her life to religious service. “But to kill innocents with families is appalling.”

Sister Ramoshini Fernando outside of St. Anthony's Shrine in Colombo, Sri Lanka

Speaking outside St Anthony’s Shrine in Colombo, Sri Lanka’s Minister of Housing Sajith Premadasa said the Easter attacks were shocking for the country.

“It’s a shock and we will apply shock therapy,” he added later. 

Premadasa acknowledged apparent security oversights in the run up to the attacks and said that would be a key part of the investigation now taking place.

Responding to reports of reprisal attacks against Sri Lanka’s Muslim community he said such activity was not widespread and was confident that the “rule of law will prevail.” 

The explosion at the shrine appeared to be the work of one suicide bomber, he said.

Twenty-four people have been arrested in connection with the attacks, Superintendent of Police Ruwan Gunasekara told CNN.

On Monday, two men were arrested for “behaving suspiciously” at a hotel in the town of Dambulla, in the center of the country. In response to questions from CNN, Gunasekara said the arrests were connected to Sunday’s bombings.

Television chef Shantha Mayadunne and her daughter Nisanga Mayadunne were killed in the explosion at the Shangri-La Hotel, Colombo, say two immediate family members.

In Facebook photo apparently posted just before the explosion, Nisanga showed herself and several others eating breakfast at the hotel. The photo caption read “Easter breakfast with family 😊”

Screen-capture of Nisanga's Facebook page, showing a photo posted from the hotel shortly before the attack.

Nisanga Mayadunne, pictured left, and Shantha Mayadunne, pictured right, in a photo posted to Nisanga's Facebook page.

The number of people killed in Sri Lanka’s church and hotel attacks has risen to 290, Superintendent of Police Ruwan Gunasekara told CNN, in a steep upward revision of earlier estimates. About 500 more are injured.

Sri Lankan hospital workers and Army soldiers stand at the door to a morgue following a blast in a church in Batticaloa. 

Here’s a visual timeline of the attacks as they struck cities across Sri Lanka on Sunday, including targeting Easter services in three churches.

Tourists and residents attempting to get in touch with relatives via social media on Monday were unable to do so without a Virtual Private Network (VPN) or a foreign SIM card, after the government ordered a block on social media in the aftermath of the attacks.

Attempts to load Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp and the messaging app Viber all failed Monday morning. Twitter appears to be accessible and some government ministers have been tweeting out information.

Some Sri Lankans have been circumventing the blocks with VPNs. People using foreign SIM cards which roam onto non-Sri Lankan networks were unaffected.

Turkey has revealed the names of two Turkish citizens killed in the bombings.

“Unfortunately, we lost our citizens, Serhan Selcuk Narici and Yigit Ali Cavus, in the treacherous attacks in Sri Lanka,” Turkish Foreign Minister Cavusoglu was quoted as saying in state media Anadolu Agency.

Both were engineers, the agency reported. 

“We are in contact with their families and we will ensure quick return of the bodies to our country,” Cavusoglu said.

Little more than a month after a devastating attack on mosques in Christchurch, New Zealand, the country’s prime minister has a message of solidarity for Sri Lanka.

“New Zealand condemns all acts of terrorism, and our resolve has only been strengthened by the attack on our soil on the 15th of March. To see an attack in Sri Lanka while people were in churches and at hotels is devastating,” said Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern in a statement.

“New Zealand rejects all forms of extremism and stands for freedom of religion and the right to worship safely.”

An overnight curfew imposed deathly quiet in capital city Colombo, before it was lifted on Monday morning. Driving through the streets from the airport, a CNN reporter saw only a handful of other cars on normally busy highways and roads. No pedestrians or other signs of street activity were visible.

The city’s beachfront hotel district, where several of the bombs struck Sunday, was heavily guarded. Soldiers carried automatic weapons and bomb-sniffing dogs inspected arriving guests, mostly international press.

Many other guests have left, or are preparing to leave—a bad sign for Sri Lanka’s resurgent tourism industry.

In the wake of Sunday’s attack, the Sri Lankan Army is boosting security around residences of clergymen, churches and religious places of worship, as well as “prominent state institutions.”

A military spokesman told press yesterday that at least a thousand troops had been deployed in capital city Colombo.

In Batticaloa, troops were identifying and delivering the bodies of victims to their next of kin.  

As we learn more about the bombing victims, British Labour Member of Parliament Tulip Siddiq has announced that one of her relatives was among them.

Sri Lankan Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe said at a press conference that there appears to have been information about a possible attack prior to the series of deadly attacks on Sunday.

The prime minister said he was not kept informed about the information and that it is one of the issues that must be looked into. 

“For now the priority is to apprehend the attackers,” he added.

Before the blasts on Sunday, a memo warned of a potential attack and requested heightened security, a police source tells CNN.

The memo was dated April 11 and was signed by Sri Lanka’s deputy inspector general of police.

Sri Lankan Minister of Telecommunication Harin Fernando tweeted a picture of the memo on Sunday.

“Some intelligence officers were aware of this incidence. Therefore there was a delay in action. What my father heard was also from an intelligence officer. Serious action need to be taken as to why this warning was ignored. I was in Badulla last night,” he wrote.

CNN obtained a copy of the memo. Here’s what it says:

When you look at Sri Lanka in Google Maps, you see red dots with exclamation points marking the locations where the attacks happened on Sunday – in the cities of Colombo, Negombo and Batticaloa.

Clicking on one of those red dots yields phone numbers for emergency services, including the police hotline, the fire department, ambulances and tourist police.

There’s also a hotline to assist families of foreign nationals who have been affected by the attacks. The victims include citizens of at least eight other countries in addition to Sri Lanka.

The Department of Homeland Security said it’s not aware of any credible or active threats in the United States as of now.

In a statement responding to the attacks in Sri Lanka, Homeland Security Acting Secretary Kevin McAleenan said the department is monitoring the situation and “doing all it can to protect the homeland from potential violent extremists.”

“DHS stands resolutely with persons of every faith who look to worship in safety and peace. We will continue our work with partners around the world to ensure that all are able to worship without fear,” the statement read.

As a precaution, the New York Police Department is implementing heightened security measures at houses of worship across the city. New York State police are also increasing patrols at religious institutions.

US Vice President Mike Pence called the attacks in Sri Lanka “an attack on Christianity & religious freedom everywhere,” and said that he and President Donald Trump were monitoring the situation.

”.@POTUS and I are monitoring the horrific attacks on those celebrating Easter in Sri Lanka. Our hearts & prayers are with the victims & their families. This atrocity is an attack on Christianity & religious freedom everywhere. No one should ever be in fear in a house of worship,” Pence wrote on Twitter.

No one has claimed responsibility for the attacks yet, and the Sri Lankan government blocked social media sites, including Facebook and Instagram, while investigations are taking place.

Facebook has been working to identify and remove content that violates its standards, according to a statement from a company spokesperson. The company also said it was working to support law enforcement and first responders.

Here’s the statement in full:

Sri Lanka’s Tourism Development Authority has requested that hotels in the country take maximum measures to strengthen security.

Three luxury hotels in Colombo, the Cinnamon Grand, Shangri-La Hotel and The Kingsbury, were targeted in the blasts on Sunday morning. By the afternoon, a hotel in front of the Dehiwala Zoo in Dehiwala-Mount Lavinia had also been attacked.

The agency also urged the public to refrain from sharing unverified information about the attacks.

The Eiffel Tower will turn off its lights starting at midnight tonight to pay tribute to the victims of the attacks in Sri Lanka.

The first wave of attacks in Sri Lanka 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.

This photo taken at St. Sebastian’s Church in Negombo is a snapshot of the horror that many experienced during this holy weekend. Blood stains are splattered across the walls and on a statue of Jesus Christ.

People from at least eight countries were killed in the series of attacks on churches and hotels in Sri Lanka, including:

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said that several US citizens were among those killed, though he did not say how many.

In addition, the Sri Lankan Foreign Ministry said in a statement earlier that nine foreign nationals were reported missing and that 25 unidentified bodies at the Colombo Judicial Medical Officer’s mortuary were believed to be foreigners.

At least 207 people have been killed and hundreds more are injured.

Several US citizens were among those killed in the Sri Lanka attacks, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said in a statement.

He did not offer any more details on the victims, but said that the US Embassy was working to provide possible assistance to the Americans affected by the attacks.

Here’s his statement:

Sri Lankan police officers clear the road as an ambulance drives through carrying victims of the church blasts in Colombo, Sri Lanka on April 21, 2019.

Five British citizens, including two dual US-UK nationals, were killed in the bombings, according to a statement from Sri Lanka’s Foreign Ministry.

The UK Foreign Office has not yet confirmed the deaths. Earlier, Britain’s High Commissioner to Sri Lanka said he spoke with injured Britons in hospital.

Additionally, nine foreign nationals are reported missing, and there are 25 unidentified bodies believed to be of foreigners at the Colombo Judicial Medical Officer’s mortuary.

As of 6 p.m. local time, 19 foreign nationals were receiving treatment at the Colombo National Hospital.

No foreigners have been admitted with injuries or declared dead at the Negombo and Batticaloa General Hospitals or the Colombo North Teaching Hospital, the directors of those hospitals said.

If you or someone you know has been affected by the explosions, and if it’s safe to do so, send us an SMS at:

+1 347-322-0415

All Easter services scheduled for Sunday evening have been canceled, Archbishop of Colombo Cardinal Malcolm Ranjith’s House said.

Ranjith condemned the explosions and offered condolences for the victims’ families, calling the attacks unacceptable.

The Easter Sunday attacks were the work of suicide bombers, High Commissioner of Sri Lanka to the UK, Manisha Gunasekera, tells CNN.

She says seven people were arrested in connection with the attacks but could not confirm their nationalities.

She says it’s unknown “which group or groups carried out these attacks” but “this is an attack against the whole of Sri Lanka because Sri Lanka is very multi-ethnic, multi-religious and multi-cultural country and the whole country comes together in celebration of Easter Sunday.”

Three police officers were killed in an explosion during a raid on a house in Dematagoda, Colombo, according to police spokesman Ruwan Gunasekara.

Following attacks on churches and hotels across the country, officers visited the house to question people inside, but were killed in two explosions, said Gunasekara during a press conference.

“One sub inspector and two constables of police have been killed, and one constable was taken to the national hospital with wounds,” he said.

Mourners gather at St Anthony's Church in Colombo.

Sri Lanka’s minority Christian community appear to be the main target of the Easter Sunday attacks that risk upsetting the country’s fragile post-war peace.

Christianity is a minority religion in Sri Lanka, accounting for less than 10% of the total population of 21.4 million.

According to census data:

Tensions between the majority Sinhalese and the Tamil minority led to a 25-year insurgency between the Tamil Tigers, classified by the US and others as a terrorist organization, and government forces.

More than 70,000 people died in the fighting, which ended when Sri Lankan forces defeated the Tamil Tigers in 2009.

In recent years, the country has witnessed a surge in ultra-nationalist Buddhism led by the Bodu Bala Sena, the country’s most powerful Buddhist organization, which has pledged to defend the religion.

Former US President Barack Obama called the Easter Sunday bombings “an attack on humanity.”

It’s still not clear who was behind Sunday’s bombings.

What is apparent, is that these coordinated Easter Sunday attacks – carried out at eight sites, including churches and hotels across Sri Lanka – were targeted at Christians celebrating one of their holiest days of the year.

The blasts also come a month before Sri Lanka is due to mark the 10-year anniversary of the end of its civil war in 2009.

CNN’s International Diplomatic Editor Nic Robertson has this analysis:

Two Chinese cousins were killed in the attack, according Chinese state media. Their families identified the bodies.

Sri Lanka’s Special Task Force (STF) raided a house in Orugodawatta, in the capital Colombo, following a series of blasts across the country Sunday.

Among the dead are around 30 foreigners, according to Sri Lankan Minister of Economic Reforms and Public Distribution, Harsha de Silva, citing defense officials.

These include:

Some British citizens were also “caught in the blast,” said British High Commissioner to Sri Lanka, James Dauris. The Commissioner was unable to put a figure on the number affected.

Journalists have described the horror inside churches and hotels destroyed in Sunday’s coordinated attacks.

At St. Anthony’s Church in Colombo, one AFP photographer saw bodies lying on the floor, some draped with scarves and clothes.

The photographer said much of the church roof had been blown off in the explosion, with tiles, glass and splintered wood littering the floor – along with pools of blood.

Security forces inspect St Anthony's Church in Kochchikade, Colombo. Getty Images.

Sri Lankan security personnel walk through St Sebastian's Church in Negombo, north of the cpaital Colombo. AFP/Getty Images.

Crime scene officials inspect the Shangri-La Hotel in Colombo.

The death toll from the blasts has risen to 207, according to a police spokesman.

450 people were injured in eight coordinated attacks across the country Sunday.

At least 160 people “including perhaps close to 30 foreigners” have been killed in the attacks, according to Sri Lankan Minister of Economic Reforms and Public Distribution, Harsha de Silva, following discussion with defense officials.

Seven people are also under arrest, according to Defense Minister, Ruwan Wijewarden.

The Sri Lankan government has temporarily blocked social media sites including Facebook and Instagram, according to officials.

The Presidential Secretariat said in a statement that the decision to block social media was taken in reaction to false news reports spreading on social media.

The statement added that security forces were conducting comprehensive investigations into the explosions, and that the social media block would continue until investigations were concluded.

A 12-hour curfew has been implemented across the country as the government tries to prevent more injuries in ongoing attacks.

The curfew will be in place until further notice, according to Ruwan Gunasekara, Attorney-at-law Superintendent of Police. Schools will also be closed for the next two days.

The Sri Lankan government is now trying to keep people away from areas where they could be targeted, with police called back from their Easter breaks to help manage the situation.

Of the eight explosions:

Whoever is behind the attacks, was “targeting Christians who are celebrating Easter and foreigners who are in hotels,” added Ripley.

The government is now “trying to get to grips with the situation and prevent more people being hurt,” he said.

US President Donald Trump has issued a new tweet saying 138 people have been killed in the explosions in Sri Lanka. In an earlier tweet on Sunday he misstated the number as 138 million.

CNN is currently reporting that at least 140 have been killed and more than 560 injured.

 Sri Lanka has a total population of around 21.7 million.

The first wave of attacks struck at the heart of Sri Lanka’s minority Christian community during busy Easter services at churches in the cities of Colombo, Negombo and Batticaloa on Sunday morning.

Pope Francis condemned the attacks during his Easter Sunday address in Rome, offering his condolences to “the victims of such cruel violence.”

See here:

Eight blast sites have been reported across Sri Lanka, including four in central Colombo.

Michel Aupetit looks on during his first mass as Paris' Archbishop at Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris, in January 2018.

The Archbishop of Paris, Michel Aupetit, referenced Sri Lanka as he began Easter Mass in Saint Eustache church this morning.

“We’re thinking of our brothers in Sri Lanka, who were slaughtered this morning,” he said.

The French capital suffered a devastating fire to its iconic Notre Dame cathedral earlier in the week. Donations have poured in to restore the 850-year-old structure.

Another explosion – the eighth of the day – was reported at a house in Mahawila Gardens, Dematagoda, where a fire was also reported.

Defense Minister Ruwan Wijewardene told press that action will be taken to stop the activity of all extremist groups in the country. 

The seventh and eighth explosions, which took place in the Dehiwela and Dematagoda areas, seemed to be committed by “those responsible for the attacks running from the law,” according to Minister of Economic Reforms and Public Distribution Harsha de Silva.

Police in Sri Lanka will impose an island-wide curfew starting Sunday from 6 p.m. local (8:30 a.m. ET Sunday), finishing at 6 a.m. local (8:30 p.m ET Sunday) on Monday morning, according to the President’s secretary, Udaya R. Seneviratne. 

European President Jean-Claude Juncker has expressed his “horror and sadness” upon learning of the blasts. He said the European Union stood “ready to support” Sri Lanka.

UK Prime Minister Theresa May also condemned the Sri Lanka bombings.

“The acts of violence against churches and hotels in Sri Lanka are truly appalling, and my deepest sympathies go out to all of those affected at this tragic time.

“We must stand together to make sure that no one should ever have to practise their faith in fear,” May said on Twitter.

Meanwhile, the governments of the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain denounced the bombings as “terrorist attacks.”

“The UAE affirmed its firm stance against all forms of violence, terrorism and extremism, targeting all without distinction between religion and race,” the UAE Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation said.

Both countries expressed solidarity with the government of Sri Lanka.

The seven bombings that occurred on Easter Sunday took place in locations across the country, largely in the capital, Colombo, but also in churches and hotels in other Sri Lankan cities.

The three churches that were attacked are St. Anthony’s Shrine in Kochchikade, St. Sebastian’s church in the nearby city of Negombo and Zion Church in the eastern city of Batticaloa.

Three of the hotels, the Shangri-La, Cinnamon Grand and Kingsbury hotels, are located in Colombo. A fourth bomb went off later in the day in front of the Dehiwala Zoo in Dehiwala-Mount Lavinia, 20 minutes outside of the capital.

Asela Waidyalankara, who witnessed the aftermath of the explosion at the hotel in front of the Dehiwala Zoo in Dehiwala-Mount Lavinia, said that he heard the explosion and went to his rooftop to check.

He said he saw two helicopters pass over the site, followed by the sound of ambulances and fire trucks. He told CNN that the smoke has stopped now.

Two people reportedly died in the seventh explosion, taking the death toll to at least 140.

Local media are reporting that the dashcam video below captured this morning’s explosion outside St. Anthony’s church in Colombo.

Multiple sources are reporting another explosion at a hotel in front of the Dehiwala Zoo in Dehiwala-Mount Lavinia, 20 minutes outside of Colombo.

The explosion comes on the heels of bombings at three churches and three hotels in cities around Sri Lanka this morning.

Official government news portal News.lk has reported that passengers departing from Bandaranaike International Airport (BIA) will need to be present at the airport at least four hours prior to their departure time, to account for extra security processes.

Sri Lankan Airlines, which is the ground handling agent for all airlines, added that only passengers will be allowed inside the airport terminal.

The airport is located to the north of the capital Colombo, on the outskirts of the city of Negombo, which was the site of at least one bombing today.

At least 20 foreigners have now been counted among the dead at Colombo National Hospital, according to hospital Director General Anil Jasinghe.

All schools across Sri Lanka will remain closed until Wednesday due to security concerns, according to official government news portal News.LK 

Sri Lankas President Maithripala Sirisena (R) seen alongside former president and currently appointed Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapakse in November 2018.

Sri Lankan President Maithripala Sirisena has instructed law enforcement and defense to “take every possible step to maintain law and order” and to conduct investigations into the attack and bring to justice those responsible, according to the government’s official news portal.

“I have given instructions to take very stern action against the persons who are responsible for this conspiracy,” President Sirisena said, adding that the government has taken all required steps in responding to the attacks.

He also urged the Sri Lankan people to cooperate with the government in this situation.

Pakistan’s leader Imran Khan has tweeted his condolences, saying “Pakistan stands in complete solidarity with Sri Lanka in their hour of grief.”

Sri Lankans are giving blood to help victims of the blasts, according to journalist Zahrah Imtiaz. She tweeted: “National Blood Bank brimming with people come to donate blood! Such an overwhelming response.”

The aftermath of the blast at St. Sebastian's Church in Negombo, north of the capital Colombo.

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.

He estimated that more than a thousand people had come to the church for Easter Sunday “because it is a special day.” Many came from villages, he added.

He described the ground as covered in rubble and shattered glass.

“You can see pieces of flesh thrown all over the walls and on the sanctuary and even outside of the church,” he added.

Onlookers mingle with security personnel following a blast at the St. Anthony's Shrine in Kochchikade, Colombo.

Sri Lankan law enforcement have urged the public to stay indoors. They asked that bystanders not gather at the explosion sites or outside the hospitals where the injured are being brought, according to government official news portal News.LK.

Leave of all police personnel has been canceled by the Inspector General of Police (IGP).

Social media giant Facebook has activated its Crisis Response tool for the blasts. The feature provides a repository for news about the incident, and allows people to mark themselves safe and search for friends who may have been affected.

Sri Lankan security personnel stand guard at entrance to the Shangri-La Hotel in Colombo on April 21, 2019, after an explosion ripped through the luxury hotel.

Hospital sources tell CNN that at least nine foreigners were among the dead brought to the Colombo National Hospital in the Sri Lankan capital.

The number of victims continues to climb: At least 560 injured people have been admitted to hospitals following the devastating blasts. As many as 260 of the injured were admitted to the Colombo National Hospital, while 300 people were hospitalized following the blast at the Zion Church in Batticaloa.

Sri Lankan security officials said police immediately rushed to all affected areas and sealed off the churches and hotels.

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi has tweeted about the multiple blasts that rocked three cities in neighboring Sri Lanka today. High-end hotels and three churches were targeted as worshipers celebrated one of Christianity’s most holy days.

“There is no place for such barbarism in our region,” he wrote, adding “India stands in solidarity with the people of Sri Lanka.”

At least 137 people have died in the attack, according to early reports from hospitals in three targeted cities.

In capital city Colombo, the Colombo National Hospital has reported 50 fatalities. Twenty-five died in Batticaloa, according to the Batticaloa General Hospital. And hospital sources say at least 62 people have died in the city of Negombo.

An ambulance is seen outside the church premises with gathered security personnel following a blast at the St. Anthony's Shrine in Kochchikade, Colombo on April 21, 2019.

At least six explosions have been reported in a coordinated attack on churches and hotels across Sri Lanka.

Three churches in Kochchikade, Negombo and Batticaloa were targeted during Easter services. 

Three hotels, the Shangri-La, Cinnamon Grand and Kingsbury Hotel, all in Colombo, were also hit with explosions, reported state broadcaster SLRC.

The Shangri-La hotel is seen in the Sri Lankan capital Colombo in this image dated November 16, 2017.

The Shangri-La Hotel in Colombo, which was the site of one of the explosions, released a statement:

“At approximately 09:05am local time, an explosion took place in Shangri-La Hotel, Colombo’s Table One cafe - one of several locations in Colombo which were affected by this morning’s attacks,” the statement reads. 

“We are deeply saddened and shocked by the incident and our thoughts and prayers are with the families of the casualties and those who have been affected. 

“We are working closely with local authorities and emergency services to provide our fullest assistance and support to the affected staff and guests.

“Our immediate priority is to look after the safety and wellbeing of all involved. A Shangri-La crisis management team has been activated to provide all necessary support.

“As this is an active investigation, we are unable to comment further at this stage. We will provide an update once more information is available.”