Van Explodes Near Church in Sri Lanka as Bomb Squad Were Defusing Device (+Video)
TEHRAN (Tasnim) - Another explosion was reported in Sri Lanka on Monday where a van went off near a church, when bomb squad officials were trying to defuse it.
“The van exploded when the bomb defusing unit of the STF (Special Task Force) and air force tried to diffuse the bomb,” the witness said, Reuters reported.
No injuries have been reported.
According to New York Times, the Sri Lankan police have arrested 24 people in connection with a series of devastating suicide bombings at hotels and churches on Easter Sunday that left nearly 300 people dead and more than 500 injured.
The government on Monday blamed National Thowheeth Jama’ath for the bombings. An official said the group, which had not carried out any serious attacks before, had help from “an international network.”
Sri Lanka’s security forces were warned at least 10 days before the bombings that the group planned suicide attacks against churches, but apparently took no action against it, indicating a catastrophic intelligence failure. Top government officials say the warning never reached them.
A dusk-to-dawn curfew was implemented for a second night on Monday in Colombo, the capital. And major social media and messaging services, including Facebook and WhatsApp, have been blocked by the government to try to curb the spread of misinformation.
Police said on Monday that the death toll rose significantly overnight to 290, adding that about 500 people had also been wounded in the attacks on sites across the country.
