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| Blast hits van near Colombo church as bomb squad tried to defuse it - Reuters witness | |
| (32 minutes later) | |
| A bomb went off near a church in Sri Lanka when officials were trying to defuse it, a Reuters witness claimed. But local media say that it was a controlled explosion by police, following horrific attacks, which killed 290 people. | |
| A van blew up when a police unit tried to defuse the explosive, a witness told Reuters. | A van blew up when a police unit tried to defuse the explosive, a witness told Reuters. |
| Local media, however, reported that it was a controlled explosion near St. Anthony’s Catholic Church in Colombo, and that the police cordoned off the area before detonating the device. Local reports suggested that there were no casualties. | |
| The church is one of the three Christian places of worship attacked during a series of coordinated bombings on Easter Sunday. Four hotels and an apartment complex were also targeted that day. Another bomb was later discovered near the Colombo International Airport and defused. | |
| Overall, 290 people were killed during the attacks, and hundreds more injured. | |
| A total of 24 people were subsequently arrested in connection to the bombings, but so far no group has claimed responsibility. Some government officials said that the perpetrators were local Islamist extremists, aided by an “international network.” | |
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