Gyanmandu:
The death toll from Sunday’s attacks rose to 310. Sri Lanka’s highest ranking Catholic official chastised the government for a serious lapse in security. The archbishop of Colombo, the country’s capital, blamed the authorities for failing to take action . Of the half-dozen sites simultaneously attacked on Sunday, the church in Negombo was the hardest hit. As many as 100 people were killed in the suicide bombing there.
Seven suicide bombers believed to be members of local Islamist extremist group National Tawheed Jamath (NTJ) carried out a series of devastating blasts that tore through churches and luxury hotels in Sri Lanka on Easter Sunday, in the country’s worst terror attack. But no group has claimed responsibility for Sunday’s attacks.
The first funerals were held on Tuesday at the damaged church in western Sri Lanka, where as many as 100 parishioners were killed by a suicide bomber. The coffins, many bearing the remains of children, were interred as the government declared a national day of mourning. The number of suspects arrested in connection with the attacks increased to 40 from 24 on Tuesday as the government declared “emergency law" even though the country is a democratic nation. The new law gives the police sweeping powers to detain and interrogate suspects without obtaining warrants.
Citizens of at least 12 countries died in Sri Lanka bombings. Sri Lanka’s top diplomat in Britain says authorities know of eight British nationals killed in the bombings. The Indian Embassy in Colombo said Tuesday that 10 Indian nationals died in the blasts. The State Department says at least four Americans were killed and several others seriously injured. Three of the children of Denmark's business tycoon Anders Holch Povlsen, were killed in the attacks. The Foreign Ministry says a Swiss national, a Swiss dual national and a non-Swiss member of the same family were killed. Spain’s Foreign Ministry says a Spanish man and woman were killed. Australia’s Prime Minister says a mother and daughter from that country were killed. And state media say two Chinese died in the blasts. The FBI has already commenced investigations into the incident while the Interpol is deploying a team of investigators, including experts in disaster victim identification, to Sri Lanka to help local authorities in the aftermath of the blasts.
