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April 22, 2019

Easter Sunday Attacks Kill Nearly 300 Across Sri Lanka
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In Sri Lanka, nearly 300 people were killed and more than 500 injured
after a series of bomb attacks tore through churches and luxury hotels
across the island nation on Sunday. A first round of deadly attacks hit
busy Easter services at Catholic churches in the heart of Sri Lanka's
minority Christian community in and around the capital Colombo, as well
as a Protestant church in the eastern city of Batticaloa. Bombs also
exploded in three luxury hotels in Colombo, with another blast striking
a hotel near a zoo south of the capital, and a final blast at a private
home believed to be tied to the attackers. Government officials blamed a
local Islamist extremist group called the National Thowheed Jama'ath for
the attacks, prompting a nationwide curfew for more than 21 million
people. Authorities also shut down all social media sites in the wake of
the attack-including Facebook, Whats App and Instagram. Meanwhile, Sri
Lanka's telecommunications minister said a government memo circulated by
Sri Lanka's top police official 10 days earlier warned of a possible
attack, but that the warning was ignored. After headlines, we'll go to
Colombo, London and Washington, D.C., for the latest.


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