Multiple blasts rock Sri Lanka on Easter Sunday, churches and hotels targeted

Eight serial explosions ripped through the island nation of Sri Lanka on Easter Sunday killing nearly 300 and wounding more than 500 people. The explosions which targetted three churches and prominent hotels went off at around 8.45 am (local time) when the Easter Sunday masses were underway. (Reuters)

Police officers work at the scene at St. Sebastian Catholic Church, after bomb blasts ripped through churches and luxury hotels on Easter, in Negambo, Sri Lanka. (Reuters)

Karnataka Chief Minister H D Kumaraswamy said two JD(S) workers were among the seven Indians who were killed in the attacks. (Reuters)

Condemning the attack, Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe held an emergency meeting and deployed at least 200 troops to carry out relief operations. The motive of the attack remains unclear. (Reuters)

Seven suspects have been arrested in raids as security agencies spring to action in the country. (AP)

Sri Lanka’s Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe has appealed his countrymen to remain united. “I strongly condemn the cowardly attacks on our people today. I call upon all Sri Lankans during this tragic time to remain united and strong," he said. (AP)

"Please avoid propagating unverified reports and speculation. The government is taking immediate steps to contain this situation,” the Prime Minister urged the citizens. (Reuters)

An emergency meeting was called by the prime minister and security at various religious institutions was heightened as the government imposed an indefinite curfew across the country. (Source: St.Sebastian's Church, Katuwapitiya, Negombo/Facebook)

The social media has also been shut down in a bid to control misinformation and fake news. (Source: St.Sebastian's Church, Katuwapitiya, Negombo/Facebook)

The first blast was reported at the St Anthony’s Church in Kochcikade in Colombo, the second from St Sebastian’s Church at Katuwapitiya in Negombo and third from a church in Batticaloa. (Source: St.Sebastian's Church, Katuwapitiya, Negombo/Facebook)

Three five-star hotels from where the blasts were reported are the Shangrila, the Cinnamon Grand, and the Kingsbury. (Reuters)

The seventh blast occurred at a guesthouse in Dehiwala, killing at least two people, while the eighth explosion took place in Dematagoda on the outskirts of Colombo. (AP)

Three police officers were killed while conducting a search operation at a suspected safe house in Dematagoda. (Reuters)

No terror group has claimed responsibility for the deadly attack. Describing the blasts as a terrorist attack, Defense Minister Ruwan Wijewardena told reporters Sunday evening that seven suspects had been arrested. (AP)

The attack is being called the worst since the end of the country’s civil war 25 years ago, in which Tamil Tigers, a rebel group from the ethnic Tamil minority, sought independence from ethnic Sinhala Buddhist majority Sri Lanka. (Reuters)

Prime Minister Narendra Modi called his Srilankan counterpart and pointed out that these attacks were another grim reminder of the most serious challenge posed to the entire humanity by terrorism in the region and the entire world. (Reuters)