What we know so far

Sri Lanka attacks: What we know about the Easter bombings

People who live near the church that was attacked yesterday, leave their houses as the military try to defuse a suspected van before it exploded in Colombo, Sri Lanka April 22, 2019. Image copyright Reuters

On Easter Sunday, Sri Lanka was rocked by a series of bombings that killed more than 300 people at churches and top-end hotels.

It is the deadliest violence in the country since the end of the civil war a decade ago. Most of the victims are believed to be Sri Lankans, but at least 31 foreigners are also among the dead, with 14 still unaccounted for.

The government says a little-known jihadist group was behind the attacks and police have made a number of arrests. However, the Islamic State (IS) group claimed the attack on Tuesday via its news outlet. On Tuesday IS released photos of the alleged attackers via its news outlet.

Here is what we know so far:

How did the attacks unfold?

The first reports were at about 08:45 (03:15 GMT) on Sunday 21 April. Six blasts took place within a short space of time.

Three were at churches - in the Kochchikade district of the capital, Colombo; in Negombo, to the north; and in the eastern city of Batticaloa. The other three blasts rocked the Shangri-La, Kingsbury and Cinnamon Grand hotels in Colombo.

Two further explosions were reported later as police searched for suspects - one in Dehiwala in southern Colombo, and another one near the Colombo district of Dematagoda, during a police raid.

How the Sri Lanka attacks unfolded

Sri Lanka is GMT+5.5

Six near-simultaneous explosions at luxury hotels and churches holding Easter mass

Blast damage at St Sebastian's Church in Negombo.
Image caption: Blast damage at St Sebastian's Church in Negombo. Image copyright by Reuters

Three churches in Negombo, Batticaloa and Colombo's Kochchikade district are targeted during Easter services and blasts also rock the Shangri-La, Kingsbury and Cinnamon Grand hotels in the country's capital.

Sri Lankan government closes school for two days.

Five hours after the initial attacks, a blast is reported near the zoo in Dehiwala, southern Colombo. This is the seventh explosion.

An eighth explosion is reported near the Colombo district of Dematagoda during a police raid, killing three officers.

A member of the Sri Lankan Special Task Force (STF) pictured outside a house during a raid.
Image caption: A member of the Sri Lankan Special Task Force (STF) pictured outside a house during a raid. Image copyright by AFP

Sri Lankan government shuts down access to major social media messaging services

Sri Lanka's government declares an islandwide curfew from 18:00 local time to 06:00 (12:30 GMT-00:30).

Reuters reports a petrol bomb attack on a mosque and arson attacks on two shops owned by Muslims in two different parts of the country, citing police.

Nationwide curfew is lifted.

A "homemade" bomb found close to the main airport in the capital, Colombo, has been made safe, police say.

Image copyright by AFP

Death toll leaps

At least 290 people, including many foreigners, are now confirmed to have died. More than 500 are injured.

Another curfew is imposed from 20:00 local time to 04:00 23 April as a precautionary measure.

Police in Colombo have recovered 87 low-explosive detonators from the Bastian Mawatha Private Bus Station in Pettah, the BBC's Azzam Ameen reports.

People flee after new explosion

Video footage from St Anthony's Shrine, shared by Guardian journalist Michael Safi, showed people running from the area in panic. According to BBC Sinhala's Azzam Ameen, the blast happened while "security forces personnel... tried to defuse a newly discovered explosives in a vehicle".

The police have not given details about how many people died at each of the blast sites.

Late on Sunday, an improvised explosive device was found and disposed of close to the country's main airport, near Colombo.

And on Monday another blast rocked a street near a church in the capital. Police were attempting to defuse explosives in a vehicle used by the attackers when it blew up.

According to police sources, an attack on a fourth hotel failed and helped lead police to the Islamist group now blamed for the assault.

How many people are dead?

On Tuesday, the official death toll given by authorities rose to 310 with more than 500 injured.

Image copyright Reuters
Image caption The attacks are the worst violence Sri Lanka has experienced in a decade

Hundreds of Sri Lankan families are in mourning. One of the first victims was celebrity chef Shantha Mayadunne. Other Sri Lankans killed included members of church congregations and staff at the hotels targeted.

The confirmed international casualties are from the UK, Denmark, Portugal, India, Turkey, Australia, the Netherlands, Japan, the US and China.

Among the dead are three children of Danish billionaire Anders Holch Povlsen, owner of the Bestseller clothing chain and the largest shareholder in clothing giant Asos.

Who was behind the attacks?

On Monday Sri Lankan authorities said they believed a little-known local militant Islamist group known as National Thowheed Jamath (NTJ) was to blame. They said officials were investigating whether it had had "international help".

Image copyright EPA
Image caption Security remains on high alert at St Anthony's, and across the country

On Tuesday, Islamic State said it had carried out the attacks. The group released a photo and video of the men it claims were responsible via its self-styled news outlet Amaq.

In the photo, all but one of the men can be seen with their faces covered. Some are holding knives.

The video showed the eight men pledging allegiance to Islamic State.

In a statement, Amaq said "members of the US-led coalition and Christians in Sri Lanka" had been targeted.

BBC security correspondent Gordon Corera says that while IS in the past has claimed attacks it was not involved in, their statement is being taken seriously due to the number of deaths.

The choice of targets is more in line with IS ideology than with traditional types of communal violence seen in Sri Lanka, he adds.

Addressing reports that officials had had prior intelligence of forthcoming attacks, Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe said: "We must look into why adequate precautions were not taken. Neither I nor the ministers were kept informed."

Police have arrested 40 people and said all the attacks were carried out by suicide bombers. Those arrested have not been publicly identified.

Sri Lanka's history and religion

Sunday's attacks were the worst ever against Sri Lanka's small Christian minority, who make up just 7% of the 21 million population.

Theravada Buddhism is Sri Lanka's biggest religion, accounting for about 70% of the population. Hindus and Muslims make up around 12% and 10% of the population respectively.

Image copyright Reuters
Image caption Christians are a small minority in Sri Lanka

The attacks are Sri Lanka's deadliest act of violence since the end of the 26-year civil war in 2009.

The war is thought to have killed between 70,000 and 80,000 people and ended with the defeat of the Tamil Tigers, who had fought for independence for the Tamil minority.