ARN News Centre

Death toll from Sri Lanka bombings rises to 359

Wednesday, 24 April 2019 08:33

The death toll from the Easter Sunday attacks on churches and hotels in Sri Lanka has risen to 359.

Updating the toll, police spokesman Ruwan Gunasekera said 18 suspects were arrested on Tuesday night, raising the total detained to 58.

This comes as Sri Lankan President Maithripala Sirisena vowed to overhaul state security, announcing changes to the heads of defence forces "within 24 hours".

On Tuesday, Prime Minister warned on Tuesday that several suspects armed with explosives were still at large.

Earlier, the IS militant group claimed responsibility for the attacks, without giving any evidence to support their claim.

More from International

Bus-truck head-on collision in Parana, Brazil kills at least 21

At least 21 people have died and four others injured in a head-on collision between a bus and a truck in the BR-373 highway in Brazil's southern state of Parana, the road operator said on Wednesday in an X post.
At least 9 killed in hotel fire in India's Kolkata

At least nine people have been killed, including a child, in a fire at a hotel in India's eastern city of Kolkata on Wednesday, local police said.
Russian drone attacks kill five in Ukraine's Kherson, governor says

A Russian drone strike on a minibus in Ukraine's southern city of Kherson has killed four people on Wednesday, Ukrainian authorities said, in what President Volodymyr Zelenskyy described as a "vicious" attack.
Ebola cases in Congo exceed 5,000, government data shows

The number of confirmed Ebola cases in the Democratic Republic of Congo now exceeds 5,000, government data has showed late on Tuesday, as health officials warn that response efforts are failing to contain the deadly disease.
8 Israeli airstrikes hit Syria's Abu al-Duhur airbase, state TV reports

Eight Israeli airstrikes have hit the Abu al-Duhur military airbase in northwestern Syria early on Tuesday, targeting the runway and storage facilities, Syria's state-run Ekhbariya said, citing a military source.