April 21, 20197 yr Seems like all of these would HAVE to have been coordinated with each other. Current numbers of reported dead are around 160, with around 600 more injured and wounded. Bombings took place in 3 Christian churches during Easter services, as well as multiple hotels and a zoo. The government has declared a state of emergency and put out a 6pm curfew country-wide, in addition to blocking all social media sites in the country, allegedly to prevent the spread of false news. Current full list of blast sites: -St. Anthony's Shrine, Kochchikade -St. Sebastian's Church, Negombo -Zion Church, Batticaloa -Cinnamon Grand Hotel, Colombo -Shangri-La Hotel, Colombo -The Kingsbury Hotel, Colombo -Near Dehiwala Zoo in Dehiwala-Mount Lavinia -A house in Mahawila Gardens, Dematagoda
April 21, 20197 yr Author Sri Lanka had a long-fought civil war that lasted from 1983 to 2009, with the government finally defeating an attempted coup by the Tamil Tigers, a large ethnic group of Buddhist separatists from northern Sri Lanka. They've had recurring smaller attacks since 2009, made mostly by Buddhist fighters, but this is far and away the biggest organized effort, to date. Sri Lanka's latest census gave tge following on the country's religious demographic: 70.2% Theravada Buddhist 12.6% Hindu 9.7% Muslim (mainly Sunni) 7.4% Christian (6.1% Roman Catholic and 1.3% other Christian)
April 21, 20197 yr Author The Sri Lankan defense minister is reporting that they believe they have identified who perpetrated the bombings. No individuals or groups have claimed responsibility, but the defense minister has confirmed that there are 7 individuals in custody following the bombings.
April 22, 20197 yr Author CNN now reporting 207 dead. As of first morning reports released on April 22 (Sri Lanka is 9-1/2 hours ahead of the Eastern Time Zone), there are now 290 dead, and the number of wounded is around 500 resulting from the attacks. The dead include at least 27 foreigners, which the New York Times has confirmed to include citizens from United States, Great Britain, China, Japan and Portugal.
April 22, 20197 yr Author Sri Lankan officials have also confirmed that: -The bombings were committed by suicide bombers. -They currently have 24 individuals in custody in connection with the bombings. -They received an internal police intelligence report on April 11th that warned to be on the lookout for possible suicide attacks planned on Catholic Churches and the Indian Embassy. The report warned officials that "You should instruct all personnel to pay strict heed to this report and be extra vigilant and cautious of the V.I.P.s and locations coming under your purview..." -The intelligence report also stated that they suspected the group planning the suicide attacks was National Thowheeth Jama’ath, a group of radical fundamentalist Muslims, which it stated were targeting “nonbelievers.” The Sri Lankan Defense Minister has asked that media not publish the names of the suicide bombers and the individuals arrested following the attack to prevent any potential martyrdom status that they may gain among other religious extremists associated with their sect.
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