Eight explosions ripped through separate locations in Sri Lanka on Easter Sunday killing over 150 people, including foreigners, and injuring over 300 others. On Sunday morning, explosions were reported at the St. Anthony's Church in Kochchikade, Kotahena, St. Sebastian's Church in Katuwapitiya in Katana, and the Zion church in Batticaloa to commemorate Easter Sunday. The other three blasts were reported at the Shangri-La, Cinnamon Grand and Kingsbury five-star hotels in Colombo. At around 2 pm, two other blasts were reported - one in Sri Lanka's Dehiwala, near the Zoological Garden and the eighth one was reported from Dematagoda Mahawila gardens. No one has yet claimed responsibility for the attacks.
The Sri Lankan government has imposed a night curfew from 6 pm on Sunday to 6 am on Monday and has temporarily blocked WhatsApp, Facebook and Viber, according to news portal Ade Darana.
Sri Lankan Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe addressed the media after the blasts and stated that action will be taken to stop the activity of all extremist groups in the country, tweeted Minister of Economic Reforms and Public Distribution, Harsha de Silva.
India has condemned the attacks and has expressed solidarity with Sri Lanka in a statement. External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj tweeted that India is keeping a close watch on the developments. "I am in constant touch with Indian High Commissioner in Colombo. We are keeping a close watch on the situation," she tweeted.
Here are the live updates:
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