Sri Lanka death toll touches 190

Three police officers were killed in an eighth explosion in Sri Lanka on Easter Sunday, taking the total death toll to 190.

The blast at a residential complex in Dematagoda in Colombo killed three officers, Defence Secretary Hemasiri Fernando told the media, reports Efe news.

He said that seven people had been arrested for the multiple attacks.

The eighth bombing came shortly after another attack left two dead in a hotel near the zoo in Dehiwala, 10 km south of the capital.

There were six coordinated explosions on Sunday morning at three luxury hotels in Colombo and three churches across the country.

The death toll now stands at 190, according to police and local authorities, while hospital sources raised the total number of wounded to 469.

Harsha de Silva, Minister of Economic Reforms and Public Distribution, said "action will be taken to stop activity of all extremist groups in the country".

He said that the Dehiwala and Dematagoda blasts "seem to be by those in the ring running from the law" but did not give any more details.

There is a "social media temporary ban", he added.

The government has declared a state of emergency and police have imposed a 12-hour curfew.

The government announced the closure of all schools in the country until Tuesday.

The National Blood Bank asked people to stop thronging its centers and said it had sufficient reserves.

--IANS

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