Asia Cup: India-Pakistan match halted in Colombo due to heavy rain; Rohit, Gill slam fifties
The India-Pakistan Super Four match in the Asia Cup has been temporarily halted due to heavy rain at the R.…
All of Sri Lanka’s Catholic churches have been ordered to stay closed and suspend services until security improves after deadly Easter serial blasts, a senior priest told AFP Thursday.
“On the advice of the security forces we are keeping all churches closed,” the priest said. “There will be no public mass said until further notice.”
Security has already been stepped up at churches across the country, government officials said.
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A string of suicide bomb attacks targeting three churches — two of them Catholic — and three hotels on Sunday killed at least 359 people and wounded hundreds.
The attacks came as churches were packed with worshippers attending Easter Sunday services.
So far 60 suspects have been arrested.
The blasts targeted St Anthony’s Church in Colombo, St Sebastian’s Church in the western coastal town of Negombo and Zion Church in the eastern town of Batticaloa around 8.45 am (local time) as the Easter Sunday mass were in progress.
Explosions were also reported from three five-star hotels — the Shangri-La, the Cinnamon Grand and the Kingsbury in Colombo.
On Tuesday, the Islamic State or the ISIS had claimed responsibility for the deadly attacks without providing any major evidence.
The country’s deputy defence minister Ruwan Wijewardene had earlier told the parliament that an initial probe into deadly suicide bomb attacks in Sri Lanka revealed it was a “retaliation for Christchurch.”
Meanwhile, earlier on Thursday, a fresh explosion was reported in Pugoda on the outskirts of the Sri Lankan capital Colombo.
Police said the explosion was reported in a garbage dump behind the Pugoda Magistrate’s Court.
Spokesman Ruwan Gunasekera said the police was investigating the matter adding that it was not a controlled explosion like other blasts in recent days.
(With inputs from AFP)
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