Sri Lanka is reeling after a series of explosions ripped through churches and hotels across the nation, leaving scores dead and injured.
Sri Lanka's defence ministry has ordered a night-time curfew after eight blasts targeting churches and hotels killed nearly 160 people across the country on Sunday.
Images circulating on social media and local news stations showed extensive damage at one of three churches targeted in the near-simultaneous blasts on Sunday morning. But documents seen by AFP show that Sri Lanka's police chief Pujuth Jayasundara issued an intelligence alert to top officers 10 days ago, warning that suicide bombers planned to hit"prominent churches".
A second deadly explosion was then confirmed at St Sebastian's, a church in the town of Negombo, north of the capital. Police cordon off the area after a explosion hit at St Anthony's Church in Kochchikade in Colombo, Sri Lanka, 21 April 2019.President Maithripala Sirisena said in an address that he was shocked by the explosions and appealed for calm, and the prime minister was expected to speak to the media shortly."I call upon all Sri Lankans during this tragic time to remain united and strong. Please avoid propagating unverified reports and speculation.
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