Sri Lanka Death Toll Reaches 290

Sri Lanka Death Toll Reaches 290

More details have been released about the Easter Sunday terror attacks in Sri Lanka. As previously reported a wave of bombings struck hotels and churches where suicide bombers detonated explosives.

BBC reports that the government has blamed a little-known local jihadist group, National Thowheed Jamath for the attacks. So far 24 people have been arrested in connection with the attacks.

Police now report that 500 people were injured.

Sri Lankan authorities confirmed that they were warned about a bomb threat from National Thowheed Jamath two weeks ago.

BBC also spoke with Defence Secretary Hemasiri Fernando who told them that the intelligence “never indicated it was going to be an attack of this magnitude”.

“They were talking about isolated, one or two incidents. Not like this,” he said.

He said, “all important departments of the police” were informed about the warning, but acknowledged that no action was taken.

Of the 290 dead, three of them are the children of billionaire Danish fashion mogul Anders Holch Povlsen.

CNN reports that Povlsen who owns Bestseller, an international clothing chain, and is the largest shareholder of the online clothing retailer Asos, lost three of his four children in Sunday’s attacks.

“We can confirm that Anders lost three children in the attack,” Jesper Stubkier, Bestseller’s communications manager, told CNN.

The family is asking for privacy at this time.

Such sad, sad, news. We’re thinking of Povlsen and the people of Sri Lanka.