Four days after the devastating attacks on over 200 dead in Sri Lanka, the danger of another attack is still present. Throughout the country, the Catholic Churches are closed for the time being on the advice of the security authorities, while the search for other suspects was intensified. Meanwhile, in a travel warning, Israel called on all citizens to leave Sri Lanka as soon as possible or not to make scheduled trips to Sri Lanka.

The Israeli Prime Minister's anti-terrorism office said on Thursday that there was "heightened concrete danger" - the threat was estimated at level four out of five. The travel warning will be issued due to the "deterioration of the security situation and the fear of further attacks," it said in the statement on.

The UK has also issued a travel warning. One should travel the country only if absolutely necessary, said British Foreign Minister Jeremy Hunt. It is very likely that further terrorist attacks will be carried out, it said in the warning.

Number of victims corrected downwards

The attacks on three five-star hotels and three Christian churches and two other explosions were on Easter Sunday, according to official figures 253 people killed and over 500 others were injured.

An attack on a fourth hotel in the capital Colombo failed. The security forces tracked the assailant to a guesthouse where he blew himself up and killed two people. In the search of another building, two suicide bombers - a man and a woman - killed themselves and three policemen. Among the victims are dozens of foreign tourists and at least 45 children. Later, more bombs and detonators were found.

The authorities in Sri Lanka had corrected the number of victims from 359 to 253 after the autopsies. Heavily mutilated corpses were therefore counted twice shortly after the explosions on Sunday.

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Stop with about 250 dead: So pointless

The authorities in Colombo blame local Islamist group National Thowheed Jamaath (NTJ) for the attacks, but believe that they must have had foreign support. The jihadist militia "Islamic State" (IS) claimed the deed for itself.

Government under pressure - Muslims fear acts of revenge

Sri Lanka's security authorities have so far arrested 75 suspects. Thousands of soldiers from the army, navy and air force took part in the search for other perpetrators and backers. On Thursday, their numbers were again increased by over 3000. At the same time, all drone flights were banned and plans postponed to lift the visa requirement for 39 states during the off-season starting in May.

Government and authorities are under great pressure, as there had been specific warnings and warnings in the run-up to the bloody attacks. Deputy Defense Minister Ruwan Wijewardene spoke on Wednesday about serious failures of the security authorities, as the information was not disclosed. Among others, President Maithripala Sirisena assures that he has not been informed, although he is also Minister of Defense and Minister of Law and Order.

For fear of revenge and intimidation, hundreds of Muslims have sought refuge in mosques and a police station. In Negombo, in the west of the country, where more than a hundred Christians were killed in a church on Easter Sunday, many Muslims were forced to evict their homes because the owners feared retaliation on their property, said Ruki Fernando of the human rights group Inform.