State of Emergency declared after deadly Sri Lanka bombings

Sri Lanka was in shock on Monday as the death toll from a deadly series of bombings on Easter Day rose to nearly 300.

Authorities have ordered a state of emergency to be introduced from midnight on Monday, the president’s office said.

The special measures are being brought in “to allow the police and the three forces to ensure public security,” the statement said, referring to the army, navy and air force.

Here is what we know so far about one of the worst attacks in the island nation’s history, which targeted churches and high-end hotels:

What happened?

Powerful explosions struck in quick succession at three hotels in the capital Colombo. The Cinnamon Grand was hit at around 8:30 am (0300 GMT) Sunday, and the Shangri-La soon after at 9:05 am. The Kingsbury Hotel was also hit.

Three churches were also targeted in that wave of blasts: Colombo’s historic St Anthony’s Shrine, the St Sebastian’s church in the town of Negombo – north of the capital – and the Zion Church in the east-coast town of Batticaloa.

All six blasts were suicide bombs.

Hours later, police raided two addresses. There were explosions at both of these addresses, with three police officers killed at one location in a suicide blast.

A home-made bomb was defused at the Colombo airport late Sunday.

Who were the victims?

The Sunday attacks were the worst ever against Sri Lanka’s small Christian minority. The blasts hit the three churches when they were full of worshippers gathered for Easter services.

More than five hundred people were injured in the bombings on churches and hotels.

At least 37 foreigners died, according to the government, including three Britons, two Turkish nationals, a Portuguese citizen, and two people holding both British and American passports.

US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said “several US citizens were among those killed”.

Three Danes, a Japanese citizen, two Chinese nationals, and at least five Indians also died in the attacks, their respective governments confirmed.

Stef Blok, the Netherlands’ foreign minister, said on Twitter that one Dutch national was among the victims – a 54-year-old woman, according to Dutch newspaper AD.

The Sri Lankan foreign ministry said nine foreign nationals have been reported missing, and there are 25 unidentified bodies believed to be of foreigners.

Who did it?

There was no immediate claim of responsibility.

Police said a total of 24 people have now been detained over the attacks, but have not provided any details about them.

The island nation suffered deadly militant attacks for years, especially by ethnic Tamil militants during a decades-long civil war that ended in 2009 when Sri Lankan forces crushed the insurgency.

In recent years, there have also been clashes between the majority Sinhalese Buddhist community and minority Muslims, and in March last year, the government imposed a 12-day state of emergency to quell anti-Muslim riots.

Christian groups have also complained of increased harassment from hardline Buddhist groups.

The Sri Lankan government believes a local Islamist extremist group called the National Thowheeth Jama’ath (NTJ) was behind the deadly suicide bomb attacks, government spokesperson Rajitha Senaratne said on Monday.

Senaratne, who is also a cabinet minister, added that the government was investigating whether the group had “international support”.

“We don’t see that only a small organisation in this country can do all that,” he said.

“We are now investigating the international support for them, and their other links, how they produced the suicide bombers here, and how they produced bombs like this.”

Documents seen by AFP show Sri Lanka’s police chief issued a warning on April 11, saying that a “foreign intelligence agency” had reported NTJ was planning attacks on churches and the Indian high commission.

Not much is known about the NTJ, a radical Muslim group that his been linked to the vandalising of Buddhist statues.

A police source told AFP that all 24 people in custody in connection with the attacks belong to an “extremist” group, but did not specify further.

Authorities have said they will look into whether the attackers had any “overseas links”.

There have been no attacks in Sri Lanka linked to foreign Islamist groups, but in January, police seized a haul of explosives and detonators following the arrest of four men from a newly formed radical group.

How did Sri Lanka react?

Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe urged people to “hold our unity as Sri Lankans” and pledged to “wipe out this menace once and for all.”

The Archbishop of Colombo, Malcolm Ranjith, described the attackers as “animals”, and called on authorities to “punish them mercilessly”.

Security has been beefed up. An initial nationwide curfew was lifted early Monday, but schools have been ordered shut for two days and the Colombo stock exchange was closed.

Authorities also put in place a “temporary” ban on social media platforms on Sunday “in order to prevent incorrect and wrong information being spread”. It was not immediately clear Monday which apps and websites were partially or completely affected by the restrictions.

Security at Colombo’s airport was also enhanced, according to Sri Lankan Airlines, which advised its passengers to arrive four hours before their flights.

Embassies have warned their citizens to stay inside.

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