Fourth planned Sri Lanka hotel attack failed, all police stations put on high alert

Colombo, Apr 23: Sri Lanka has put all police stations in Colombo on high alert after an unidentified container truck and a van, believed to be carrying explosives.

A warning issued by the Director of Security at the Colombo Harbour said intelligence had found information that an unidentified container truck and a van carrying a potential explosive device was heading towards Colombo.

A van was also used to carry explosives for the bomb attacks at the three hotels on Sunday. The van was later seized and the driver was arrested.

At least five Indians were killed when the suicide bomber struck the hotel.

The Indian High Commission in Colombo identified them as, Lakshmana Gowda Ramesh, K M Lakshminarayan, M Rangappa, K G Hanumantharayappa and Narayan Chandrashekar. Four of them were workers of the Janata Dal (Secular) party.

Seven suicide bombers believed to be members of an Islamist extremist group - the National Tawheed Jamath (NTJ) - carried out a series of devastating blasts that tore through three churches and luxury hotels in Sri Lanka on Easter Sunday, killing 321 people and wounding 500 others, including Indians, in the country's worst terror attack.

ISIS has claimed responsibility for the attacks, but police have so far arrested 24 people - mostly members of the NIJ - in connection with the blasts.