Sky News
- Security footage shows a man suspected of killing 110 people in a suicide bombing at a church in Sri Lanka on Sunday entering the Easter service moments before the blast.
- Two cameras from St. Sebastian’s Church, Negombo, capture a bearded man walking purposefully to the church with a large rucksack.
- He then enters, and makes his way through the pews before footage is cut off. Moments a later a bomb blast, which killed 110 people, occurred.
- 321 people were killed in eight explosions at five-star hotels and churches across Sri Lanka on Sunday.
- Sri Lanka blamed the Muslim group National Thowfeek Jamaath for the attack, and said it was "retaliation" for the massacre of 50 people at two mosques in Christchurch, New Zealand.
- Visit INSIDER’s homepage for more stories.
Security footage from a church in Sri Lanka shows a backpack-wearing man, suspected of killing 110 people in a suicide bombing, entering the building moments before the explosion.
Footage from St. Sebastian’s Church in Negombo — one of six buildings attacked on Sunday — shows a young, bearded man heading to the church wearing a large rucksack, before he’s seen by a second camera entering and moving through the church.
The security footage, broadcast widely on Sri Lankan TV channels and shared by Sky News, was clipped to end before the blast.
Out of the 321 people killed in total on Sunday, 110 were killed at St. Sebastian’s, Cardinal Malcolm Ranjith told The Associated Press on Tuesday.
AP
After the attack, the church posted devastating images of the aftermath, and wrote on its Facebook page: "A bomb attack to our church please come and help if your family members are there."
The attack on St. Sebastian was one of eight across Sri Lanka on Sunday, which hit three churches and three five-star hotels. The targets were:
- St. Sebastian church in Negombo
- St. Anthony church in Colombo
- The Zion Church in Batticaloa
- The Shangri-La hotel in Colombo
- The Cinnamon Grand hotel in Colombo
- The Kingsbury hotel in Colombo
On Tuesday, Sri Lankan Defense Minister Ruwan Wijewardene told press 24 people have been arrested in connection with the attacks.
In a statement to parliament later on Tuesday Wijewardene told lawmakers the attacks were "retaliation" for the mass shooting of 50 Muslims at two mosques in New Zealand on March 15.
Read more: At least 300 people died in the Sri Lanka Easter Sunday attacks — here are some of their stories
Wijewardene said: "The preliminary investigations have revealed that what happened in Sri Lanka on Sunday was in retaliation for the attack against Muslims in Christchurch."
He did not give any explanation or evidence as to why the attack was a retaliation.
Wijewardene also confirmed the death toll from the eight explosions was now at 321, and included 38 foreigners.
See Also:
- Sri Lanka says Easter bombing spree that killed 321 people was ‘retaliation’ for the mosque shootings in New Zealand
- A British politician said she lost a relative in Sri Lanka’s deadly Easter bombings
- 2 Saudi sisters fled the country and are live-tweeting their pleas for asylum. They say their father and brothers are trying to chase them down.
Source: Business Insider – feedback@businessinsider.com (Bill Bostock)