Six explosions ripped through Sri Lanka’s churches and popular hotels on Sunday morning, with authorities saying 160 people were feared dead.
Worshippers were targeted at the Kochikade, St Sebastian and Batticaloa churches during Easter mass.
The other locations are Hotel Shangri La, Cinnamon Grand and Kingsbury hotel.
The blasts occurred at around 8.45am (local time) as the Easter Sunday masses were in progress in churches, police spokesman Ruwan Gunasekera said.
The nature of the explosions, was not immediately clear and there were no immediate claims of responsibility.
Sri Lanka Prime Minister condemned the attack in a tweet, and appealed to citizens to stay strong and united. “I strongly condemn the cowardly attacks on our people today. I call upon all Sri Lankans during this tragic time to remain united and strong. Please avoid propagating unverified reports and speculation. The government is taking immediate steps to contain this situation,” he tweeted.
The Sri Lanka government has called an emergency meeting, the Minister of Economic Reforms and Public Distribution, Harsha de Silva, said in a tweet. “Emergency meeting called in a few minutes. Rescue operations underway,” he tweeted.
