Sri Lanka on Tuesday imposed a state of emergency hours after the government blamed a local Islamist group for a series of suicide bomb blasts that killed at least 290 people, including dozens of foreigners.
Twenty-four people have been arrested over the coordinated Easter Sunday assault on multiple churches and hotels in the capital Colombo and beyond, authorities said.
The carnage — which also left some 500 people injured — was the worst atrocity since the South Asian country’s civil war ended a decade ago.
The attacks were also the worst ever against Sri Lanka’s small Christian minority, who make up just seven percent of the country’s population of 21 million.
Investigators are now hunting for clues on whether the National Thowheeth Jama’ath (NTJ) group received “international support”, said cabinet minister and government spokesman Rajitha Senaratne.
The spokesman added that it was not possible for such “a small organisation” to carry out such well coordinated suicide strikes.
The state of emergency, which gave police and the military special powers to counter militant strikes, came into force at midnight (1830 GMT Monday). Suspects can be detained without a court order.
