6 Indians among 290 killed in serial bomb blasts in Sri Lanka, nationwide curfew imposed

A series of 8 devastating bomb blasts shook through high-end hotels and churches holding Easter services in Sri Lanka on Sunday, killing 290 people, including at least 6 Indians.

The powerful blasts – six in quick succession and then two more hours later – injured hundreds. At least two of them involved suicide bombers, including one who lined up at a hotel breakfast buffet before unleashing carnage.  Sri Lanka imposed a nationwide curfew and curbed social media access to prevent “wrong information” from spreading in the country of 21 million people.

According to the reports, Prime Minister Narendra Modi called up the president and the premier of Sri Lanka and conveyed heartfelt condolences over the loss of over 160 lives in terrorist attacks in the island nation on Sunday.

During his conversations with Sri Lankan President Maithripala Sirisena and prime minister Ranil Wickremesinghe, Modi condemned the serial terrorist attacks in the strongest terms,

There were disruptions to flights, but Sri Lanka’s national carrier Sri Lankan has already asked leaving passengers to report to check-in counters at least four hours prior to departure because of tight security checks at the Bandaranaike International airport.

The Eiffel Tower in Paris went dark at the midnight, as a tribute to those who lost their lives in the serial bombings.

The apparently coordinated attacks were the deadliest to hit the country in the decade since the end of a bloody civil war that killed up to 100,000 people and evoked painful memories for many Sri Lankans.

They also marked a devastating escalation of violence against the country’s Christian minority that has been targeted in the past, but never to such brutal effect. There was no immediate claim of responsibility, but the Sri Lankan authorities have arrested 24 people from the minority Muslim community in connection with the multiple blasts.

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