BREAKING: A ninth bomb has been located and successfully defused at Colombo International Airport in Sri Lanka. SriLankaTerrorAttack
A series of eight powerful bomb blasts has ripped through luxury hotels and churches holding Easter services on the island nation, killing at least 207 people and injuring 450 more. At least 27 tourists have been caught up in the devastation with the Government yet to confirm if an Australians were involved.
Press agency AFP has reported that police chief Pujuth Jayasundara sent a warning to senior officers 10 days ago that suicide bombers from a little known Islamist group could attack “prominent churches”. But one of the country’s more controversial decisions to block social media nationwide in response to the attacks has been slammed by users. Sri Lanka has imposed a ban on sites including Facebook, YouTube, Instagram and the popular messaging service WhatsApp, in a bid to control information flow and contain rumours about the bombings. The country has a troubled history with racial violence incited on the platforms but the Easter attacks have no known link to social media.
Officials confirmed that authorities blocked access to platforms including Facebook, WhatsApp and Viber as part of a broader curfew order in the country. Economy Minister Harsha de Silva said Sunday the latest ban was temporary and that access would be allowed again “once investigations have concluded”. It’s a strategy the country has adopted before.
Sarita Marlou, who was at the Shangri-La hotel, wrote in a Facebook post that one blast occurred at 8:57am in the Table One Restaurant on the third floor where people had gathered for brunch. Hours later, there were two more blasts — one of them at another Colombo hotel. At least two of the eight were carried out by suicide bombers, according to police sources and a hotel official.
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