Six children among those found dead after fierce firefight in Sri Lanka

The bodies of 15 people, including six children, were discovered at the site of a fierce overnight gun battle on the east coast of Sri Lanka.

The gun battle between troops and suspected Islamist militants erupted on Friday evening in Sainthamaruthu in Ampara, to the south of the town of Batticaloa, site of one of the Easter Sunday blasts at luxury hotels and churches that killed more than 250 people.

In a separate raid nearby, police said explosives and uniforms of the Islamic State (IS) group were seized.

The Sri Lankan security forces had earlier said four gunmen and a civilian had been killed in the shootout. The 15 were found in the morning during clearance operations.

In the meantime, the U.S. State Department on Friday said American citizens should reconsider travel to Sri Lanka due to the threat of terrorism after more than 250 people were killed in suicide bombings on Sunday.

In a statement, the department also said it had ordered the departure of all school-age family members of U.S. government employees.

“Terrorist groups continue plotting possible attacks in Sri Lanka,” it said.
Sri Lanka has deployed nearly 10,000 security personnel across the country to track down all those responsible for the attacks and to provide security at religious sites.

Authorities have blamed a local Islamist extremist group, National Tawheed Jamath, for the attacks, although IS has also said it was behind them.

Security was stepped up around mosques for Friday prayers as some Muslims stayed away for fear of revenge attacks.
Via Reuters/BBC