6 bombs were detonated across the Colombo area in Sri Lanka, in an apparent suicide bombing attack.

In the wake of the terror attack which has left 207 dead, it has emerged Sri Lanka’s police chief reportedly warned of suicide bombers planning to hit “prominent churches” 10 days ago.

According to The Sun, documents show cops were told of possible attacks involving the religious hubs, before worshippers were killed during Easter mass today.

Dozens were also injured and killed in blasts at four hotels in Colombo this morning, as six explosions happened almost at once across the city.

Hours later two more were reported, leaving five more people dead — including three police officers.

Just over a week ago police chief Pujuth Jayasundara reportedly told officers: “A foreign intelligence agency has reported that the NTJ (National Thowheeth Jama’ath) is planning to carry out suicide attacks targeting prominent churches as well as the Indian high commission in Colombo”.

The NTJ is a radical Muslim group in Sri Lanka that was linked last year to the destruction of Buddhist statues.

There has been no immediate claims of responsibility for the attacks in the country, which was at war for decades with Tamil separatists until 2009 — during which bomb blasts in the capital were common.

All of the six explosions this morning — as Christians attended Easter mass — were carried out by suicide bombers, according to initial investigations.

Sri Lanka’s minister of defence Ruwan Wijewardene said in a press conference: “We believe that all the culprits who have been involved in this unfortunate terrorist incident will be taken into custody as soon as possible. They have been identified, and they will be taken into custody as soon as possible.”

He later confirmed seven people have been arrested over the string of deadly blasts.

‘TARGETING CHURCHES’

Last year, there were 86 verified incidents of discrimination, threats and violence against Christians, according to the National Christian Evangelical Alliance of Sri Lanka (NCEASL).

And there have been recent reports of clashes between Sinhalese Buddhist and Muslim communities, with some hard line Buddhist groups accusing Muslims of forcing people to convert to Islam.

Out of Sri Lanka’s total population of around 22 million, 70 per cent are Buddhist, 12.6 per cent Hindu, 9.7 per cent Muslim, and 7.6 per cent Christian, according to the country’s 2012 census.

In its 2018 report on Sri Lanka’s human rights, the US State Department noted that some Christian groups and churches reported they had been pressured to end worship activities after authorities classified them as “unauthorised gatherings.”

The death toll in today’s shocking attack has risen to 207, according to Sri Lanka’s deputy transport minister — with just one of the church attacks said to have seen 300 victims.

Worshippers were attacked at St Anthony’s Shrine, a Catholic Church in Kochchikade, Colombo, St Sebastian’s Church in Negombo, a majority Catholic town north of Colombo, and at Zion Church in the eastern town of Batticaloa — where more than 300 people are thought to have been injured.

BUFFET BOMBER

According to The Daily Mail, a Sri Lanka bomber queued at hotel buffet then unleashed devastation on unsuspecting crowds at the Easter Sunday breakfast buffet at Sri Lanka’s Cinnamon Grand hotel before setting off explosives that were strapped to his back as he waited in the buffet queue.

The man was a Sri Lankan and had registered at the hotel the night before as Mohamed Azzam Mohamed, and was carrying a breakfast plate about to be served at around 8.30am when he set off his bomb in the packed restaurant, a manager at the Sri Lankan hotel said.

“There was utter chaos,” said the manager, who spoke to AFP on condition of anonymity.

It was one of the busiest family days of the year inside the Taprobane restaurant at the hotel.

“One of our managers who was welcoming guests was among those killed instantly.”

The bomber also died and parts of his body were found by police inside the restaurant after the blast.

Authorities have not yet confirmed who or what group staged the attacks.

This story first appeared in The Sun and is republished with permission.