In a series of eight devastating bomb blasts ripped through high-end hotels and churches holding Easter services in Sri Lanka on Sunday, killing at least 207 people, including dozens of foreigners. 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. Over 450 people have been injured in the attacks.
The powerful blasts -- six in quick succession and then two more hours later -- left hundreds injured and wrought devastation, including at the capital's well-known St Anthony's Shrine, a historic Catholic Church.
At least two of the explosions were carried out by suicide bombers, according to police sources and a hotel official, and police spokesman Ruwan Gunasekera said the authorities were investigating whether suicide attackers were involved in all eight of them.
Thirteen people have been arrested in connection to the deadly attacks, the defence minister of Sri Lanka said.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi condemned the attack on the hotels and churches on Easter and said such "barbarism has no place in the region". "Strongly condemn the horrific blasts in Sri Lanka. There is no place for such barbarism in our region. India stands in solidarity with the people of Sri Lanka. My thoughts are with the bereaved families and prayers with the injured," PM Modi tweeted.
