Sri Lanka holds "State funeral" for disaster victims

The death toll from the attacks on churches and hotels has now risen to 310, with 500 injured, police said.

At 8:30 this morning, a moment of silence was observed across Sri Lanka, reflecting the moment the first of eight bombs exploded. Flags were lowered to half-mast and many people shed tears and bowed their heads in respect.

A mass funeral for about 30 victims also took place at St Sebastian's Church in Negombo, north of the capital Colombo, one of the sites hit by Sunday's bombing.

The Sri Lankan government has blamed local Islamist group National Thowheed Jamath (NTJ) for the deadly attack. However, neither the NTJ nor any other group has claimed responsibility for Sunday's bombings.

Police have now arrested 40 suspects in connection with the attacks. Defence Minister Ruwan Wijewardene told Parliament on Tuesday that “preliminary investigations” indicated the string of eight bombings were in retaliation for the deadly attacks on mosques in Christchurch, New Zealand, in March this year.

Nga Nguyen