Hundreds dead in multiple blasts in Sri Lanka : What we know so far

* Over 156 people have died including 35 foreign nationals and as many as 400 were injured in six serial blasts that ripped through areas in and around Sri Lanka's capital Colombo.
* St Anthony's Church in Kochcikade in Colombo, St Sebastian's Church in the western coastal town of Negombo and another church in the eastern town of Batticaloa — were targeted. While three explosions were reported from the five—star hotels, the Shangri-La, the Cinnamon Grand and the Kingsbury.
* The first blasts were reported at St Anthony's church in Colombo and St Sebastian's Church in Negombo just outside the capital. The church had posted about the attack on its Facebook page urging people to come and help.
* The blasts were followed by explosions at three hotels in Colombo and the church in Batticaloa.
* No group has claimed responsibility for Sunday's attacks.
* However, Sri Lanka's police chief had made a nationwide alert 10 days ago that suicide bombers planned to hit "prominent churches" and "the Indian high commission in Colombo".
* On April 11, police chief Pujuth Jayasundara had sent an alert and put National Thowheeth Jama'ath (NTJ) on radar which is a radical Muslim group in Sri Lanka that came to notice last year when it was linked to the vandalization of Buddhist statues.
* Another group which has been behind deadly attacks in the past is the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) which ran a military campaign for a separate Tamil homeland for nearly 30 years before its collapse in 2009 after the Sri Lankan Army killed its supreme leader Velupillai Prabhakaran.
* Appealing for calm, President Maithripala Sirisena said, "I have been shocked by this totally unexpected incidents. The security forces haven been asked to take all action necessary."
* Sri Lanka Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe condemned the 'cowardly' attacks and urged the people to avoid unverified reports and speculation.

* Sri Lanka's minister of economic reforms and public distribution, Harsha de Silva, called an emergency meeting.

* Prime Minister Narendra Modi condemned the attack and said that such acts of violence have no place in the region.

* Several foreign nationals have been reported dead. Given the close economic, cultural ties between India and Sri Lanka and presence of significant Indian diaspora, external affairs minister Sushma Swaraj said that she was in constant touch with Indian High Commissioner in Colombo, keeping a close watch on the situation.

* Indian citizens in need of assistance or help or to seek any clarification may call the following numbers : +94777903082 +94112422788 +94112422789
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