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| The scene from inside St Sebastian Church in Katuwapitiya, Negombo.FACEBOOK |
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| Sri Lankan soldiers secure the area around one of the churches in Colombo. Witnesses are reporting many dead in the attacks targetting worshippers at Easter services. AP |
VietPress USA (April 20, 2019): On Sunday mass, Christians celebrate Easter in Sri Lanka and got bombing attacked at different churches.
Officials have not spoken of a terrorist attack, but the blasts appeared to target Churches and high class hotels.
Police spokesman Ruwan Gunasekera said that the injured were being evacuated while security forces have cordoned off the areas and search operations are underway.
The injured included foreigners staying at the three five-star hotels – the Cinnamon Grand, Kingsbury and Shangri-La in the heart of Colombo.
Nine foreigners were among the dead, the officials said.
Security in the capital and the airport has been stepped up following the blasts.
A source in the police bomb squad said that one of the explosions was at St Anthony's Church in Kochcikade, Colombo.
"Our people are engaged in evacuating the casualties," the source said.
Alex Agileson, who was in the vicinity, said buildings in the surrounding area shook with the blast. He said a number of injured were carried in ambulances.
AFP reported that there are at least 130 people killed and more than 400 others injured. Please read this report from AFP on Daily Mail at:
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Suicide bombers kill almost 130 people and injure 400 more in 'targeted attack on Christians' on Easter Sunday as six devastating explosions hit churches and hotels in Sri Lanka
- A string of blasts hit high-end hotels and churches in Sri Lanka this morning, killing at least 129 people
- more than 400 people were said to have been injured after six near-simultaneous explosions
- Two of the Easter Sunday blasts are suspected to have been carried out by suicide bombers, an official said
A string of blasts hit high-end hotels and churches in Sri Lanka this morning, injuring hundreds of people as worshippers attended Easter services in a 'coordinated, targeted attack on Christians'.
The death toll has risen to at least 129 people and more than 400 have been injured after six near-simultaneous explosions across the country, an official said.
Two of the blasts were suspected to have been carried out by suicide bombers, according to one security official, who spoke on condition of anonymity as he was not authorised to speak with reporters.
The fatalities include at least 42 people killed in Colombo, where three hotels and a church were hit, and another 10 dead in the town of Batticoloa, where a church was attacked.
An official at the Batticaloa hospital said 300 people had been admitted with injuries following the blast there.
The first explosions were reported at St Anthony's Church in Colombo and St Sebastian's in the town of Negombo just outside the capital
Debris is seen at St Anthony's church after explosions hit churches and hotels in Colombo, Sri Lanka on Easter Sunday
Pictured: The aftermath following an explosion at St Anthony's Church in Kochchikade in Colombo, Sri Lanka, 21 April 2019
Sri Lankan soldiers secure the area around St. Anthony's Shrine after a blast in Colombo on Easter Sunday this morning
The country's Prime Minister has called an emergency security council meeting after the bombings, a source said (pictured: Outside Colombo)
The first blasts were reported at St Anthony's Church in Colombo and St Sebastian's in the town of Negombo just outside the capital, with another reported at Zion Church in the eastern town of Batticaloa.
Local TV showed damage at the Cinnamon Grand, Shangri-La and Kingsbury hotels.
The explosion ripped off the roof and knocked out doors and windows at St. Sebastian's, where people carried the wounded away from blood-stained pews, local TV footage showed.
Sri Lankan security officials said they were investigating. Police immediately sealed off the areas.
Sri Lanka's police chief made a nationwide alert 10 days before Sunday's bomb attacks in the country that suicide bombers planned to hit 'prominent churches', according to the warning seen by reporters.
Police chief Pujuth Jayasundara sent an intelligence warning to top officers on April 11 setting out the threat.
'A foreign intelligence agency has reported that the NTJ (National Thowheeth Jama'ath) is planning to carry out suicide attacks targeting prominent churches as well as the Indian high commission in Colombo,' said the alert.
The NTJ is a radical Muslim group in Sri Lanka that came to notice last year when it was linked to the vandalization of Buddhist statues.
Pictured: A woman is helped near St Anthony's Shrine after a blast in Colombo. At least 160 people injured in the St Anthony's blast had been admitted to the Colombo National Hospital by mid-morning, an official said
Left: Police officers inspect the scene after a explosion hit St Anthony's Church in Colombo. Right: Ambulances are seen outside the church premises with gathered people and security personnel
Two of the blasts were suspected to have been carried out by suicide bombers, according to one security official
The country's Prime Minister has called an emergency security council meeting after the bombings, a source said.
At least 160 people were injured in the St Anthony's blast had been admitted to the Colombo National Hospital by mid-morning, an official said.
'A bomb attack to our church, please come and help if your family members are there,' read a post in English on the Facebook page of the St Sebastian's Church at Katuwapitiya in Negombo.
Shortly after those blasts were reported, police confirmed three hotels in the capital had also been hit, along with a church in the town of Batticalao, in the east of the country.
Photos circulating on social media showed the roof of one church had been almost blown off in the blast.
The floor was littered with a mixture of roof tiles, splintered wood and blood.
Several people could be seen covered in blood, with some trying to help those with more serious injuries.
Only around six percent of mainly Buddhist Sri Lanka is Catholic, but the religion is seen as a unifying force because it includes people from both the Tamil and majority Sinhalese ethnic groups.
St Anthony's Shrine and the three hotels where the blasts took place are in Colombo, and are frequented by foreign tourists.
Alex Agieleson, who was near the shrine, said buildings shook with the blast, and that a number of injured people were carried away in ambulances.
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Hạnh Dương
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