The Scotsman

What we know about the bombings

-

Nearly 300 people, including eight Britons, have died after a series of bombings in Sri Lanka.

Here is what we know so far:

l Six nearly simultaneo­us explosions at three churches and three hotels took place at Colombo, Negombo and Batticaloa on Easter Sunday.

l In Colombo, St Anthony’s Shrine and the Cinnamon Grand, Shangri-la and Kingsbury hotels were targeted in the first wave of explosions.

l Other blasts were reported at St Sebastian’s Church in Negombo – a majority Catholic town north of Colombo – and at Zion Church in the eastern town of Batticaloa.

l Three police officers were killed when they went to question suspects.

l There were two further explosions later at a guesthouse in Dehiwala and near an overpass outskirts of Colombo.

l Another blast rocked a street near a church in Colombo yesterday as police attempted to defuse explosives in a vehicle used by the attackers.

l Officials have described it as a terrorist attack by religious extremists. Most of the blasts are suspected suicide attacks.

l Police will examine reports the intelligen­ce community failed to detect or warn of possible suicide attacks.

l Eight Britons, including two people holding joint US and British nationalit­ies, are among the 290 people dead.

l British lawyer Anita Nicholson, 42, her son Alex, 14, and daughter Annabel, 11, were killed. Three children of Scotland’s biggest landowner, Anders Holch Povlsen, have also died.

l There are also US, Turkish, Indian, Portuguese, Dutch and Chinese victims among the 27 foreign nationals killed.

l More than 500 people have been injured.

l Twenty-four suspects have been arrested.

l A nationwide curfew was imposed from 6pm to 6am.

Newspapers in English

Newspapers from United Kingdom