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Five more suspects arrested in relation to Sri Lanka attacks

According to media reports, one of the suspects was arrested on the outskirts of Colombo, while the other four were apprehended in the towns of Gampola and Katugastota

© AP Photo/Eranga Jayawardena

NEW DELHI, April 22. /TASS/. Sri Lanka’s authorities have arrested another five suspects in relation to a series of explosions that killed 290 on Sunday, the News First news portal reported.

According to the portal, one of the suspects was arrested on the outskirts of Colombo, while the other four were apprehended in the towns of Gampola and Katugastota.

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Devastating aftermath of Sri Lanka's Easter Sunday attacks

The country’s authorities earlier said that 24 suspects had been arrested in connection with the terrorist attacks. The news about new arrests came after a bomb planted in a van parked outside St. Anthony’s Church in Colombo had been defused in a controlled explosion.

The church was one of the terrorists’ targets on Sunday and suffered serious damage from an explosion. On Monday, Sri Lanka’s Minister of Housing and Construction Sajith Premadasa vowed to rebuild the church as soon as possible.

On April 21, a series of terrorist attacks, unprecedented in the country’s history, took place in Sri Lanka. A total of eight explosions occurred in high-end hotels and churches in the cities of Colombo, Negombo and Batticaloa during Easter services. According to recent data, the attacks claimed 290 lives, including more than 30 foreign nationals. The country’s authorities have confirmed that the explosions were carried out by suicide bombers who were Sri Lankan nationals.

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