TASS, April 22. The string of deadly blasts that hit Sri Lanka on April 21 were carried out by at least seven suicide attackers, the Associated Press news agency reported on Monday, citing a Sri Lankan forensic service investigator.

According to the agency, the suicide attackers set off the explosions in six hotels and churches. Per latest reports, 24 people were detained on suspicion of being behind the terror attacks.

On Sunday, Sri Lanka was rocked by eight blasts that happened almost simultaneously around 08:45 local time. The first explosion went off in the St. Anthony’s Shrine, Kochchikade in Colombo, the second - in the St. Sebastian's Church in Negombo, 30 km north of Colombo, the third bomb was detonated in a church in the town of Batticaloa in the east of the country. Apart from that, around the same time the explosions hit the Shangri-La, Cinnamon Grand and Kingsbury hotels in the Sri Lankan capital. The seventh blast happened in the Colombo zoo, while the eighth bomb exploded in the Dematagoda, a suburb in Colombo.

The churches were holding Easter services. According to the latest reports, 290 people died in the bombings. Among those attending the services and staying in the hotels there were a lot of foreigners who had arrived in Sri Lanka as tourists to celebrate Easter in an exotic location.