Sri Lanka, a small island nation located southwards of India, experienced a devastating terrorist attack today despite being an Easter Sunday. The attack occurred around 8:45 am killing at least 207 people and leaving 450 injured. This makes the attack one of the deadliest since the turn of the decade in southern Asia.
Among those found dead at the scene were 11 foreigners made up of 2 Turkish nationals, 3 British nationals, 1 Portuguese national and 3 Indians. The nationality of the remaining two dead victims is yet to be verified according to Sri Lanka’s foreign ministry.
The attack was targeted at three churches and three luxury hotels in and just outside of Sri Lanka where a series of 6 blasts occurred simultaneously. The affected churches include St. Sebastian’s in Negombo, Zion church in Batticaloa and St. Anthony’s Shrine while the hotels include Cinnamon grand, Shangri La and Kingsbury Hotel these three hotels are the most visited by foreigners and are all located in Colombo, the capital city of Sri Lanka.
Two blasts went off hours later in a safe house in Dematagoda in an attempt by the occupants of the house to resist arrest. The police claim to have arrested 13 suspects in association with the attack and have also discovered a vehicle believed to be the suspects’ means of transport along with a safe house.
Since the occurrence of this shocking attack, Sri Lanka has received condolence messages from around the world, some of which pledged their support while others condemned the heinous act.
While reacting to this, Sri Lanka Defense Minister, Ruwan Wijewardena said the attack was instigated by religious extremists and feared this could destabilize the nation’s economy and cause instability in the country.
