LAHORE – The toll in a series of eight blasts in Sri Lanka on Sunday has risen to at least 207, with over 450 people wounded, police spokesman Ruwan Gunasekera said.
Speaking at a press conference, he said three people had been arrested in connection with the attacks that mostly targeted high-end hotels in the capital and churches where worshippers were attending Easter services.
Gunasekera said the police were investigating whether suicide bombers were involved in all of the blasts.
Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe condemned the attacks — the worst act of violence since the end of Sri Lanka’s civil war a decade ago — as “cowardly”, as the government imposed an immediate and indefinite curfew across the entire country of 21 million people.
The powerful blasts — six in quick succession and then two more hours later — wrought devastation, including at the capital’s well-known St Anthony’s Shrine, a historic Catholic Church.
At least two of the attacks were confirmed as being carried out by suicide bombers, according to police sources and a hotel official.
Post these attacks, I am thinking of Sri Lanka with all my heart. I recently visited the country, last year. I was a girl on a solo trip, who did not know much about the people there. I stayed there for two weeks, and I was constantly made comfortable by whoever I came across. From the hotel owner, to the hotel managers, to the transport people and the sales people at the shops, they were all super accommodating and lovely. It hurts to know that a country as hospitable as that has had to face such horrible fate at the hands of terrorists.
Sri Lanka is beautiful. The breathtaking beaches are a sight honestly. The shopping is cheap yet amazing. The food is a treat to your tastebuds and the religions are all managing well being carried forward side by side to one another.
Our heart goes out to Sri Lanka as Pakistanis.
