By Canadian Press

Sri Lanka arrests 40 suspects after bombings, toll up to 310

Apr 22, 2019 | 10:07 PM

COLOMBO, Sri Lanka — As a state of emergency took effect Tuesday giving the Sri Lankan military war-time powers, police arrested 40 suspects, including the driver of a van allegedly used by the suicide bombers and the owner of a house where some of them lived.

Sri Lanka’s president gave the military a wider berth to detain and arrest suspects — powers that were used during the 26-year civil war but withdrawn when it ended in 2009.

Police spokesman Ruwan Gunasekara said the death toll from Sunday’s attacks rose to 310.

President Maithripala Sirisena has declared a day of mourning for Tuesday, a day after officials disclosed that warnings had been received weeks ago of the possibility of an attack by the radical Muslim group blamed for the bloodshed.

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The Associated Press