While Sri Lanka is still working on the serious attacks on Easter Sunday, there are already personnel consequences: The police chief and a high-ranking employee of the Ministry of Defense have to vacate their posts. Background were serious errors in the information transfer before the attacks, it said. President Maithripala Sirisena has both instructed to file layoffs. That informed his office.
Hours before, Sirisena had already announced that they would be exchanging the security agencies' guides within 24 hours. He said that evidence from foreign intelligence agencies on plans for an attack had not been disclosed to him.
Seven Sri Lankan suicide bombers blew themselves up almost simultaneously on Easter Sunday in three churches in several cities and three luxury hotels in the capital, Colombo. Several hours later there were two more explosions in a small hotel and residential area in suburban Colombo.
The number of deaths was 359 according to the latest police reports - including 34 foreigners according to the Foreign Ministry, 14 were still missing. Also a German-American was killed. This was announced by the Foreign Office. According to Unicef also 45 children were killed. More than 400 were injured, according to the police still treated in hospitals.