As a state of emergency took effect on Tuesday giving the Sri Lankan military war-time powers, police arrested 40 suspects, including the driver of a van allegedly used by the suicide bombers and the owner of a house where some of them lived.
Sri Lanka’s president gave the military a wider berth to detain and arrest suspects – powers that were used during the 26-year civil war but withdrawn when it ended in 2009.
Police spokesperson Ruwan Gunasekara said the death toll from Sunday’s attacks rose to 310.
President Maithripala Sirisena has declared a day of mourning for Tuesday, a day after officials disclosed that warnings had been received weeks ago of the possibility of an attack by the radical Muslim group blamed for the bloodshed.
Source: AP
