Militants linked to Easter suicide bombings opened fire and set off explosives during a raid by Sri Lankan security forces on a house in the country's east, leaving behind a grisly discovery Saturday: 15 bodies, including six children.
The gunbattle that began Friday night and the carnage that followed came amid widespread fear of more attacks as officials hunt for militants with explosives believed to still be at large after the co-ordinated bombings of churches and luxury hotels that killed more than 250 people nearly a week ago.
A girl and a woman survived the explosion at the suspected safe house but were critically injured and being treated at a hospital, Gunasekara said. Fear of more attacks has led to increased security at churches, shrines, temples and mosques across the multiethnic island nation of 21 million off the southern coast of India.
Meanwhile, cleaning crews worked at St. Anthony's Shrine in Colombo, the capital, where broken glass still littered a blood-stained floor, the remnants of one of the Easter attacks. They collected debris, tossing it into a truck parked outside as a heavy contingent of security forces stood guard.
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