Over 200 killed in 8 blasts in Sri Lanka
Serial bomb blasts took place on Sunday in Sri Lanka on the occasion of Easter. So far, 207 people have died in serial bomb blasts in several places including the capital Colombo. More than 450 people are reported to be injured. After the blast, the police arrested seven suspects. Since the morning, 8 bombs blasts have shaken the nation till now. According to the news agency PTI, three policemen have died in the eighth blast. According to the information, the seventh explosion occurred in a hotel in Dehiwala, southern Colombo, in which two people died.
In view of security, 200 army personnel have been deployed in Colombo. Curfew has been announced in Sri Lanka from 6 in the evening to 6 in the morning. On the social media platform, there has been a ban with immediate effect. The security official said that they suspects that two churches have been targeted by suicide bombers.
According to reports, the Sri Lankan police chief had issued an alert about suicide attacks across the country 10 days earlier. The alert said that suicide bombers could target major churches. According to the report, the Sri Lankan fundamentalist group National Thowheed Jamaat (NTJ) is plotting to carry out suicide attacks while targeting the Indian High Commission in Colombo, along with major churches. National Thowheed Jamaat is a fundamentalist group in Sri Lanka, which demolished Buddhist statues last year.
It is being told that during this time eight sites including 3 churches were targeted. In the blasts. 207 people were reported dead while more than 450 were injured. The sources said that in the blasts, 42 people in Colombo, 60 in Negombo and 27 in Batticaloa have been killed.
The history of bomb blasts earlier in Sri Lanka is of LTTE era. The last major attack in the country was in 2006. About 13 years ago, on October 16, 2006, about 112 people were killed in the Digampathana massacre. The militants linked to the LTTE targeted the Sri Lankan army and entered a convoy of 15 vehicles of the army.
At the same time, after the blasts, Sri Lankan Prime Minister Ranil Wickramasinghe convened an emergency meeting. Sri Lankan President Maitripala Sirisena has appealed to the people to maintain peace with the people while expressing grief over the blasts. He has asked the security agencies to investigate and take strict action against the culprits of the attack.
External affairs minister Sushma Swaraj tweeted on the serial blasts in Sri Lanka’s Colombo that we are keeping an eye on the entire situation.
