Page 122 - War Conflict
Wife, sister of Shangri La Hotel bomber killed in separate suicide blast: Lanka police
The wife and sister of the suicide bomber at the Shangri La Hotel in Sri Lanka were also killed in a separate suicide blast after a bomber blew himself up causing the concrete floor of a two-storey building to crash on them in a suburb in northern Colombo, police told a court here on Monday. The police also informed the Colombo Chief Magistrate's Court that the suicide bomber of the Shangri-La hotel has been identified as Insan Seelavan, owner of a factory in Avissawella-Wellampitiya road, the Daily Mirror reported. On Sunday, a series of eight blasts in Sri Lanka killed 290 people and wounded over 500. The explosions -- one of the deadliest attacks in the country's history -- targeted 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 as the Easter Sunday mass were in progress. Explosions were reported from three five-star hotels - the Shangri-La, the Cinnamon Grand and the Kingsbury in ...
Muslim group blamed for Sri Lanka horror, 8 Indians among 290 dead (5th Lead)
Sri Lanka on Monday blamed a local Muslim outfit for the horrific Easter Sunday suicide bombings which killed 290 people, including eight Indians, and said the attacks were "a colossal intelligence failure".
Indian Coast Guard beefs up surveillance after Lanka blasts
The Indian Coast Guard has beefed up surveillance and deployed more ships and aircraft for patrolling following a series of devastating blasts in Sri Lanka on Sunday. This has been done to ensure that no element that could pose as a security threat sneaks into the country through sea, a senior Coast Guard official said. "We have deployed all our ships from Coast Guard stations at Tuticorin, Mandapam and Karaikal for surveillance," the official said. He said the surveillance was stepped up as soon as reports of the blasts started emerging Sunday. Seven suicide bombers, believed to be members of an Islamist extremist group, carried out a series of devastating blasts that tore through churches and luxury hotels in Sri Lanka on Easter Sunday, killing 290 people and wounding 500 others in the country's worst terror attack.
Security beefed up around Naval base after blasts in Sri Lanka
Security has been beefed up in and around the Naval Base here in the wake of the deadly Easter blasts in Sri Lanka , a Defence spokesman said here Monday. "In the backdrop of Sri Lanka blasts, security has been enhanced in and around Naval base as a precautionary measure. Surveillance over sea has also been enhanced," he said here. The Kochi-based Southern Naval Command is one of the three main formations of the Indian Navy. At least 290 people were killed and more than 500 wounded in the serial blasts in neighbouring Sri Lanka Sunday.
Indians at Shangri-La Hotel saw fellow guests injured by huge glass shrapnels
An Indian national, who escaped the worst terror attack in Sri Lanka on Easter Sunday, said it was a "horrific sight" to see huge chunks of glass on the bodies of fellow guests and white aprons of chefs drenched in blood after a suicide bomber struck a luxury hotel here. Sri Lankan authorities said 290 people were killed and over 500 others injured when suicide bombers attacked three churches and luxury hotels in the country. Akshat Saraf, 30, was in Colombo's Shangri-La Hotel with his wife and infant daughter when the explosions struck. They could hear blasts from their room on the 25th floor. "First blast was very loud and our room started shaking. At first I thought it was a thunderstorm and I didn't pay too much attention. It had been raining in Sri Lanka for some time," he told CNN. "It was the second blast when I sensed that something was not right," he said. Saraf said he and his family grabbed their passports and took the emergency exit to head to the ground floor. "When we ...
7 Lankan suicide bombers involved in Easter blasts; 24 arrested as toll rises to 290
Seven suicide bombers believed to be members of an Islamist extremist group carried out a series of devastating blasts that tore through churches and luxury hotels in Sri Lanka on Easter Sunday, killing 290 people and wounding 500 others in the country's worst terror attack, authorities said on Monday. A state of emergency was declared from midnight Monday after a crucial meeting of the National Security Council chaired by President Maithripala Sirisena. No group has claimed responsibility for Sunday's attacks, but police have so far arrested 24 people - mostly members of a same group - in connection with the blasts that also killed six Indian nationals. Police said that 9 out of the 24 arrested for involvement in the blasts were ordered to be remanded by the Colombo magistrate's court till May 6. Government's spokesman Rajitha Senaratne said local Islamist extremist group called the National Tawheed Jamath (NTJ) is suspected of plotting the blasts that struck three churches when the .
Foreign terrorists too involved: Sri Lanka
Sri Lankan President Maithripala Sirisena announced on Monday that he will seek foreign assistance to find the international links to Sunday's terror attacks that left 290 people dead.
87 bomb detonators found at bus station in Colombo: Police
As many as 87 bomb detonators were found on Monday at a bus station in Colombo, police said, a day after a series of deadly blasts killed 290 people and wounded more than 500 others in the island nation. The bomb detonators were found at the Central Colombo bus station in Pettah area. The police initially found 12 bomb detonators scattered on the ground. A further search revealed 75 more, a police statement said. On Easter Sunday, a string of eight powerful blasts, including suicide attacks, struck churches and luxury hotels frequented by foreigners in Sri Lanka, killing 290 people, including three Indians, and shattering a decade of peace in the island nation since the end of the brutal civil war with the LTTE. The blasts - one of the deadliest attacks in the country's history - targeted 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 at around 8.45 a.m. (local time) as the Easter Sunday ...
We are ashamed, says Sri Lanka Muslim Minister
A leading Sri Lankan Muslim political leader on Monday called for introspection within the community after a local Muslim group was blamed for the suicide bombings that killed 290 people on Easter Sunday.
Three children of Scotland billionaire killed in Sri Lanka attacks
Three of the four children of Danish billionaire have died in Sri Lanka's deadliest terror attacks that killed 290 people and injured over 500 others, a media report said on Monday. Anders Holch Povlsen, 46, is Denmark's wealthiest man and is believed to be the largest landowner in Scotland after buying a string of historic estates. The family were visiting Sri Lanka over the Easter holiday. The names of the children have not been made public. Povlsen owns the international clothing chain Bestseller and is also the biggest single shareholder in clothing giant Asos and is the UK's largest private landowner, according to the Times newspaper. "Unfortunately, we can confirm the reports," a Bestseller spokesman said in an email. "We ask you to respect the privacy of the family and we therefore have no further comments." Three days before the attacks Povlsen's daughter Alma shared an Instagram photo of her siblings Astrid, Agnes and Alfred - calling them "three little bears" - in front of a
UN says death toll from fighting over Libya's capital at 254
The UN health agency says at least 34 more people have died in fighting for control of Libya's capital over the past two days, bringing the total to 254 dead so far, including civilians. The World Health Organisation also said late Sunday that 1,228 have been wounded since the self-styled Libyan National Army launched an offensive earlier this month to take Tripoli. The fighting pits the force, led by Khalifa Hifter, against rival militias affiliated with a weak UN-supported government in the capital. Abdelhadi Lahouij, the top diplomat for a rival, east-based government, told The Associated Press in Tunis that Hifter's push slowed down because of the "crucial" issue of protection for Tripoli civilians. President Donald Trump phoned Hifter last week, expressing US support for Hifter's perceived stance against terrorism.
Be extra cautious, police advise hotel owners in Dharamshala
Hotel owners in Dharamshala and other tourist places in Himachal Pradesh have been instructed to maintain "extra caution" in view of Sunday's terror attack in Sri Lanka, officials said. In a meeting with tourism sector stakeholders in Dharamshala on Monday, DIG, police, Santosh Patial asked the owners of about 150 hotels to be careful when recruiting staff and to check their documents thoroughly. He further instructed them to be vigilant during the checking in of guests and to only accept genuine documents. Maintain a complete record of the guests and employees and their in-and-out movement, he said. If any suspicious activity is seen, it should be immediately reported to the police on either 112 or through the nearest police post, he said. The DIG said high-definition security cameras must be installed in the hotels, which must have unobstructed view. The latest instructions assume significance in light of the terror attack in Sri Lanka, ongoing Lok Sabha elections in India and the ..
Indian Coast Guard on high alert following bomb blasts in Sri Lanka
Indian Coast Guard has been put on high alert along the maritime boundary with Sri Lanka and has taken preventive measures following the eight coordinated bomb blasts that rocked Sri Lanka during Easter celebrations on Sunday.Maritime surveillance aircraft Dornier and ships have been deployed on the maritime border to prevent any attempts of escape by the group which carried out suicide bombings in Sri Lanka, Coast Guard sources saidThe coast guards are taking extra precaution to avoid a repeat of 26/11 Mumbai terror attacks when the terrorists used the sea route to enter India.Mumbai came to a standstill more than a decade ago when 10 Lashkar-e-Taiba(LeT) terrorists entered the country's financial capital through a sea route from Pakistan and conducted a series of coordinated shootings and bombing attacks across the city.On November 26, 2008, multiple attacks took place at Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus (CST) railway station, Cama Hospital, Nariman House business and residential ...
Multi-tier security cover for Tripura deferred polls
With the deployment of an unprecedented number of para-military and state armed forces troopers, a multi-tier security cover is in place for the deferred polls to the Tripura East Lok Sabha constituency on Tuesday, officials said here on Monday.
Sri Lankan Muslim group blamed for suicide bombings
The government on Monday blamed a Sri Lankan Muslim group for the serial bombings that killed 290 people in the country on Easter Sunday and said the attacks were "a colossal intelligence failure".
Sri Lanka to enforce Emergency from midnight
Sri Lanka's National Security Council on Monday announced plans to impose a "conditional state of Emergency" from midnight.
Grenade found near Imphal school
A hand grenade was found near the gate of a missionary school in the Manipur capital town on Monday, police said. A bomb disposal squad of Manipur Police defused the grenade at Lamphel area. The grenade, placed by unidentified miscreants, was discovered by joggers near the school gate at 8 AM following which the police were alerted, a senior police officer said. After receiving the information, officers of the bomb squad arrived at the spot along with Army personnel. Vehicular traffic was halted for over half an hour as a precautionary measure, the police said.
Funeral of victims of Sri Lanka bombings on Tuesday
The Sri Lankan government on Monday said that it will hold an official funeral to pay tributes to the nearly 300 people killed in a series of suicide bombings on churches and hotels on Easter Sunday.
Sri Lanka imposes curfew again
The Sri Lankan government announced a new curfew from 8 p.m. Monday to 4 a.m. Tuesday, a day after a wave of suicide bombings on Easter Sunday killed 290 people and wounded over 500 across the island nation.
Sri Lanka to reimpose night curfew after multiple blasts
Sri Lanka on Monday ordered a new night-time curfew following the multiple suicide attacks on Sunday that killed 290 people and wounded 500 others. The decision to reimpose curfew comes hours after authorities lifted a previous curfew Monday morning. "The police curfew which was lifted at 6 this morning is to be re-imposed at 8 pm Monday until 4 am Tuesday," the Government Information Department said. A string of eight powerful blasts, including suicide attacks, struck churches and luxury hotels frequented by foreigners in Sri Lanka on Easter Sunday, killing 290 people, including six Indians, and shattering a decade of peace in the island nation since the end of the civil war with the LTTE. Following Sunday's attack, the island nation had imposed a mid time curfew with immediate effect.