Glass on the ground near the site of a detonated van
Families were asked to identify bodies that were laid on the ground in front of a church
Bodies of victims of one of the church bombings were laid on the street for identification
Easter Sunday Bombings
On Easter Sunday across Sri Lanka, a series of coordinated explosions began as worshipers settled into churches on both the country’s east and west coasts to celebrate the Christian holy day. Between 8:45 a.m. and 9:30 a.m., the ISIS-related terrorist explosions perpetrated by a small off-sect of Muslim suicide bombers occurred at six sites, including multiple churches, each with detonated explosive devices. At least 260 people died in the attacks, and more than 500 were injured. Sanctuaries were hit by shrapnel and left without roofs. Photos show blood-spattered walls, splintered wooden pews, and bodies.
Roughly 22 days after these initial strikes, in what is perceived as retaliation, Christian mobs angered by the bombings began targeting Muslim businesses and mosques, attacking them with rocks, sticks, and fire.
A Police guard is set up in a neighborhood very close to one of the church bombing sites
An intact wall outside one of the bombed churches
A crowd with the coroner and policeman in front of one of the bombed churches
Candles burning outside one of the more heavily destroyed churches
Twenty-two days after the coordinated bombings by extremists that mainly targeted Christian churches, large-scale reprisals against Muslim-owned businesses, mosques, and individuals erupted, with mobs attacking and setting fires across the country.
Newspapers in Tamil, Sinhala, Malayalam, and Hindi languages all focused in the unrest in Sri Lanka
Military presence in Colombo, the capital city
Security checks were set up around the country in order to enter mosques
Muslim-owned businesses began to be attacked
The view from a window that was attacked by a mob of angry Christians
A mosque that was attacked
CCTV footage outside a mosque showed policemen in the attacking mob
22 days after the coordinated bombings, Muslim owned business began to be attacked and set fire to
Burnt electrical box after a business that wasin proximity of a Muslim owned one also burned
Shattered glass from broken windows on the floor of a mosque