Sri Lanka Says Attacks Carried Out By Suicide Bombers, 24 Suspects Arrested

Sri Lanka’s Government Analyst’s Department has confirmed that the Sunday attacks on the three churches and the hotels in Colombo was carried out by suicide bombers. Police launched investigations into the explosions and have arrested 24 suspects in connection with the bombings.

A total of eight explosions occurred across the country on Sunday, in which 290 were killed and over 500 sustained injuries.

Explosions were reported in St. Anthony’s Church in Kotahena, Katuwapitiya Church in Katana, Zion Church in Batticaloa and Shangri-La, Cinnamon Grand and Kingsbury hotels in Colombo, a reception hall near the Zoological Garden in Dehiwala and at Maha Wila Gardens housing scheme in Dematagoda.

INTERPOL is deploying a team to Sri Lanka to assist the national authorities investigating the series of bomb attacks.

Checks are already being made against the Organization’s Stolen and Lost Travel Documents and nominal databases in order to identify potential investigative leads and international connections, INTERPOL said.

Deployed at the request of the Sri Lankan authorities, the Incident Response Team (IRT) will include specialists with expertise in crime scene examination, explosives, counter-terrorism, disaster victim identification and analysis.

If required, additional expertise in digital forensics, biometrics, as well as photo and video analysis will also be added to the team on the ground.

“As the Sri Lankan authorities investigate these horrific attacks, INTERPOL will continue to provide whatever support is necessary,” said INTERPOL Secretary General Jürgen Stock.