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Sri Lankan Bombings Death Toll Rises to 359, New Suspects Arrested - Report

© REUTERS / Dinuka LiyanawatteCoffins of victims are carried during a mass for victims, two days after a string of suicide bomb attacks on churches and luxury hotels across the island on Easter Sunday, in Colombo, Sri Lanka April 23, 2019.
Coffins of victims are carried during a mass for victims, two days after a string of suicide bomb attacks on churches and luxury hotels across the island on Easter Sunday, in Colombo, Sri Lanka April 23, 2019. - Sputnik International
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MOSCOW (Sputnik) - The number of people killed in a series of deadly blasts that hit Sri Lanka on Sunday has risen to 359, Ada Derana news portal reported on Wednesday, citing police.

According to previous reports, 321 people were killed in the explosions.    

Police spokesman Ruwan Gunasekara has reportedly said Wednesday morning that 18 suspects were arrested overnight, raising the total detained to 58.

Sri Lanka's prime minister Ranil Wickremesinghe  warned on Tuesday that several suspects armed with explosives were still at large, according to Reuters.    

READ MORE: Sri Lanka Arrests Syrian Over Sunday Attacks as Death Toll Rises to 310 — Report

Earlier it was reported that around 500 people were wounded in the blasts, adding that 40 people were under arrest in connection with the attacks, which Sri Lanka's government has blamed on the local Islamist group National Thowheeth Jamaath.

Coffins of victims are carried during a mass for victims, two days after a string of suicide bomb attacks on churches and luxury hotels across the island on Easter Sunday, in Colombo, Sri Lanka April 23, 2019. - Sputnik International
Asia
Sri Lankan Prime Minister Warns More Attacks Possible
Eight explosions took place in Sri Lanka on Easter Sunday; three churches and three hotels were targeted. Taken together, these constituted the worst attacks to have happened in the country's modern history, exceeding even the most notorious terror attacks of the country's 25-year civil war, which ended in 2009, in terms of civilian loss of life.

A massive security operation was launched following the attacks. Sri Lanka's authorities introduced and re-introduced curfews, deploying an extra 1,000 troops in the capital Colombo.

Daesh* has reportedly claimed responsibility for the Sri Lanka attacks and released images that purported to show the attackers. Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe said that investigators were still determining the extent of the bombers' foreign links, Reuters reported.

*Daesh (ISIS/ISIL/Islamic State), a terrorist group outlawed in Russia and numerous other countries

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