The death toll from a devastating series of eight bomb blasts that ripped through high-end hotels and churches holding Easter services in Sri Lanka on Sunday has risen to 207, police spokesman Ruwan Gunasekera said. At least 450 people were injured in the attacks.
At least two of the eight attacks were carried out by suicide bombers, according to police and other sources, and three police were killed when another suicide bomber detonated explosives during a raid on a house where suspects were. At least 13 suspects have been arrested in connection with the attacks.
Police spokesperson Ruwan Gunasekera said the police were investigating whether suicide bombers were involved in all of the blasts.
The government said earlier that investigators would look into whether the attackers had "overseas links."
There were no immediate claims of responsibility for the attacks in a country which was at war for decades with Tamil separatists until 2009 during which bomb blasts in the capital were common.
Christian groups say they have faced increasing intimidation from some extremist Buddhist monks in recent years. And last year, there were clashes between the majority Sinhalese Buddhist community and minority Muslims.
At a glance:
Four hotels ─ Cinnamon Grand, Shangri-La, Kingsbury and Tropical Inn ─ targeted in Colombo
One church each targeted in Colombo (St Anthony's Shrine), Negombo (St Sebastian's Church) and Batticaloa (Zeon Church)
At least 47 killed in Colombo blasts: police
At least 25 killed in Batticaloa blast: police
At least 67 killed in Negombo blast: police
35 foreigners ─ including Dutch, US and UK citizens ─ dead: police
At least 450 injured
Curfew, 'temporary' social media ban imposed
Trail of terror
Three churches ─ one each in Colombo, Negombo and Batticaloa ─ and three Colombo hotels were targeted in the initial series of blasts. Another hotel and an unspecified location in Colombo were struck by two more blasts two hours later.
The death toll included worshippers and hotel guests. The injured flooded into local hospitals, where officials reported hundreds of wounded were being admitted.
Hospital sources said British, Dutch and American citizens were among the dead, with Britons and Japanese also injured. A Portuguese man also died, the country's LUSA news agency reported. Four Pakistanis were among the injured, according to the Foreign Ministry.
The first explosions were reported at St Anthony's Church in Colombo and St Sebastian's Church in the town of Negombo just outside the capital.
Shortly after those blasts were reported, police confirmed three hotels in the capital had also been hit, along with a church in the town of Batticalao, in the east of the country. Police immediately sealed off the attack sites. Sri Lankan security officials are investigating the attacks.