Tajik President Emomali Rahmon has extended condolences to Sri Lankan President Maithripala Sirisena over the deadly blasts, which hit several hotels and churches of the island country on Sunday, says a telegram posted on the Tajik president’s official website.
“”We were very sad to hear the news about deadly explosions that left a large number of dead and injured in friendly Sri Lanka,” the telegram says.
Tajik leader once again pointed to the necessity of conducting relentless war on terrorism.
Meanwhile, media reports say a series of eight devastating bomb blasts ripped through high-end hotels and churches holding Easter services in Sri Lanka on Sunday, killing at least 290 people, including dozens of foreigners.
The attacks were the worst act of violence to hit the country in the decade since the end of a bloody civil war that killed up to 100,000 people.
There was no immediate claim of responsibility but the government said eight people had been arrested and investigators would look into whether the attackers had “overseas links.”
The government also imposed a nationwide curfew and curbed social media access to restrict “wrong information” spreading in the country of 21 million people.
The powerful blasts — six in quick succession and then two more hours later — injured hundreds.
At least two of them reportedly involved suicide bombers, including one who lined up at a hotel breakfast buffet before unleashing carnage.
CNN reports that gruesome bombings reportedly killed at least 290 people and injured 450 people.
Police said 35 foreigners were among the dead, including British, Dutch, Portuguese, Chinese and American citizens.
Among the churches targeted was the historic St. Anthony’s Shrine, a Catholic church in Colombo, where the blast blew out much of the roof.
Documents seen by AFP show that Sri Lanka’s police chief, Pujuth Jayasundara, issued an intelligence alert to top officers 10 days ago, warning that suicide bombers planned to hit “prominent churches.
“A foreign intelligence agency has reported that the NTJ (National Thowheeth Jama’ath) is planning to carry out suicide attacks targeting prominent churches as well as the Indian high commission in Colombo,” the alert said.
The NTJ is a radical Muslim group in Sri Lanka that was linked last year to the vandalization of Buddhist statues.
