Easter Sunday bomb attacks on churches and hotels kill at least 207 in Sri Lanka




Sri Lankan military stand guard inside a church after an explosion in Negombo, Sri Lanka April 21, 2019. Stringer | Reuters

More than 200 people were killed and at least 450 injured in bomb blasts that ripped through churches and luxury hotels in Sri Lanka on Easter Sunday, the first major attack on the Indian Ocean island since the end of a civil war 10 years ago. Seven people were arrested and three police officers were killed during a security forces raid on a house in the Sri Lankan capital several hours after the attacks, many of which officials said were suicide bomb explosions. The government declared a curfew in Colombo and blocked access to social media and messaging sites, including Facebook and WhatsApp. It was unclear when the curfew would be lifted.

Crime scene officials inspect the site of a bomb blast inside a church in Negombo Stringer | Reuters

"Altogether, we have information of 207 dead from all hospitals. According to the information as of now we have 450 injured people admitted to hospitals," police spokesman Ruwan Gunasekera told reporters. Three churches in various parts of the country and four hotels in Colombo were hit. At least 27 of the dead were foreigners, including five British people, two of whom had dual U.S. citizenship, and three Indians, according to officials in those countries. U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said U.S. nationals were among those killed, but did not give details. There are 25 unidentified bodies, believed to be of foreigners, at the Colombo Judicial Medical Officer's mortuary, Sri Lanka's foreign ministry said.

Officials inspect the explosion at Shangri-La hotel in Colombo, Sri Lanka. Dinuka Liyanawatte | Reuters

Prior information

There were no immediate claims of responsibility for the attacks in a country which was at war for decades with Tamil separatists until 2009, a time when bomb blasts in the capital were common. Prime Minister Ranil Wickremsinghe acknowledged that the government had some "prior information of the attack," though ministers were not told. He said there wasn't an adequate response and there needed to be an inquiry into how the information was used. He also said the government needs to look at the international links of a local militant group.

Crime scene officials inspect the site of a bomb blast inside a church in Negombo Stringer

Agence France Presse reported that it had seen documents showing that Sri Lanka's police chief Pujuth Jayasundara issued an intelligence alert to top officers 10 days ago, warning that suicide bombers planned to hit "prominent churches". He cited a foreign intelligence service as reporting that a little-known Islamist group was planning attacks. A Sri Lanka police spokesman said he was not aware of the intelligence report. Local Christian groups have said they faced increasing intimidation from some extremist Buddhist monks in recent years. Last year, there were clashes between the majority Sinhalese Buddhist community and minority Muslims, with some hardline Buddhist groups accusing Muslims of forcing people to convert to Islam. Dozens were killed in one of the blasts at St. Sebastian's Gothic-style Catholic church in Katuwapitiya, north of Colombo. Gunasekera said the police suspected a suicide attack there. Pictures from the site showed bodies on the ground, blood on the church pews and a destroyed roof. Local media reported 25 people were also killed in an attack on an evangelical church in Batticaloa in Eastern Province.

Military deployed

The hotels hit in Colombo were the Shangri-La, the Kingsbury, the Cinnamon Grand and the Tropical Inn near the national zoo. There was no word on casualties in the hotels, but a witness told local TV he saw some body parts, including a severed head, lying on the ground beside the Tropical Inn. The first six explosions were all reported within a short period in the morning just as church services were starting. One of the explosions was at St. Anthony's Shrine, a Catholic church in Kochcikade, Colombo, a tourist landmark.

Sri Lankan Special Task Forces soldiers raid a house following an explosion in Colombo, Sri Lanka April 21, 2019. Stringer | Reuters

The explosion at the Tropical Inn happened later and there was an eighth explosion at a house in Colombo. Police and media said that three officers were killed and seven people detained during a raid on this location. "I strongly condemn the cowardly attacks on our people today. I call upon all Sri Lankans during this tragic time to remain united and strong," said the prime minister in a Tweet. "Please avoid propagating unverified reports and speculation. The government is taking immediate steps to contain this situation." President Maithripala Sirisena said he had ordered the police special task force and military to investigate who was behind the attacks and their agenda. The military was deployed, a military spokesman said, and security stepped up at Colombo's international airport.

Security forces inspect the St. Anthony's Shrine after an explosion hit St Anthony's Church in Kochchikade in Colombo, Sri Lanka on April 21, 2019. Chamila Karunarathne | Anadolu Agency | Getty Images

Attacks on Christians

Last year, there were 86 verified incidents of discrimination, threats and violence against Christians, according to the National Christian Evangelical Alliance of Sri Lanka, which represents more than 200 churches and other Christian organizations. This year, the organization recorded 26 such incidents, including one in which Buddhist monks allegedly attempted to disrupt a Sunday worship service, with the last one reported on March 25. Out of Sri Lanka's total population of around 22 million, 70 percent are Buddhist, 12.6 percent Hindu, 9.7 percent Muslim and 7.6 percent Christian, according to the country's 2012 census. The heads of major governments condemned the attacks.

A relative of a victim of the explosion at St. Anthony's Shrine, Kochchikade church reacts at the police mortuary in Colombo, April 21. REUTERS/Dinuka Liyanawatte Dinuka Liyanawatte | Reuters