Police said they found 15 bodies after militants opened fire and set off explosions during a sweep on a suspected Islamist hideout. Authorities are scrambling to track down suspects tied to the deadly Easter bombings.
The bodies of 15 people, including six children, have been found following a raid on a house linked to suspected Islamist militants, Sri Lankan police said Saturday.
Three explosions went off Friday night as police commandos, backed by the army, engaged in a gunbattle at a suspected militant hideout in Sainthamaruthu, 360 kilometers (224 miles) east of the capital, Colombo, police said.
"We have searched the place and found 15 bodies of which 12 of them were inside the house and three outside," police spokesman Ruwan Gunasekara said. Three of the dead were women and six were children. A civilian also died after getting caught in the crossfire.
The militants were believed to be linked with last weekend's spate of deadly Easter bombings, which killed more than 250 people.
Police said that one or more suicide bombers detonated the blasts as security forces attempted to storm the house.
At least three of the dead were suspected members of the National Towheed Jama'at (NTJ), which has been blamed for last Sunday's attacks.
The government has said nine homegrown, well-educated suicide bombers were behind the deadly Easter explosions that targeted churches and luxury hotels. Police have identified eight of those individuals. They've also arrested more than 70 people in their investigations so far.
Friday's shootout came hours after security forces raided a nearby property where they believe the attackers recorded a video pledge to "Islamic State" (IS) leader Abu Bakr Al-Baghdadi before carrying out the Easter bombings. Police said they seized dozens of sticks of dynamite, an IS flag and uniforms similar to those worn by the eight fighters who appeared in the video, which was released two days after the attacks.
IS has claimed responsibility for the carnage but provided no evidence to back up its claim.
