5 Indians among 290 killed in Sri Lanka blasts, 24 suspects arrested

Colombo: The toll in a series of eight blasts targeting mostly churches and hotels in Sri Lanka on Sunday has risen to 290, a police spokesman said Monday.

More than 500 people were wounded in the blasts, he added, in the deadliest violence since the end of the country's long-running civil war a decade ago.

Minister of External Affairs Sushma Swaraj on Monday confirmed that five Indians were among those killed in the bombings.

Sri Lankan police have arrested 24 suspects till now in connection with attacks on churches and hotels, reported news agency ANI.

The serial blasts targeted churches including 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.

The three five-star hotels hit were the Shangri La and Cinnamon Grand and Kingsbury. Dehiwala Mount Lavinia, another hotel in from the Dehiwala Zoo, was also attacked.

On Sunday, the Lankan government announced a curfew and shut down social media. The curfew was lifted this morning at 6.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility of the attacks.