Shootout in Sri Lanka as police conduct terror raids following Easter Sunday atrocities

Gunfire reported as police raid a suspected bomb factory

A security officer stands guard outside St. Anthony's Shrine, days after a string of suicide bomb attacks on churches and luxury hotels across the island on Easter Sunday, in Colombo, Sri Lanka. REUTERS

Nicky Harley

Apr 26, 2019

Police in Sri Lanka have been shot at following a terror raid on a suspected bomb factory.

The incident happened on Friday in Kalmunai, south of Batticaloa, as the authorities continued their hunt for suspects in connection with the Easter Sunday killings which left more than 250 dead.

The armed forces came under fire as they raided a factory believed to have been used to manufacture suicide vests.

Sri Lankans offer prayers for the hundreds killed in a series of bomb blasts in the country on Easter Sunday. Khushnum Bhandari for The National

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A spokesman said there was an explosion in the area and when soldiers went to investigate they were fired upon.

No details of casualties were immediately available.

It comes less than a week after the terror attacks.

Sri Lanka news agency Nidahasa News says the incident is ongoing.

It comes just a day after police appealed to the public for help tracking down five suspects, three women and two men, whose names and pictures they posted on an official Twitter account.