On Easter Sunday, explosions across Sri Lanka killed hundreds of people and wounded many more. As the country reels in shock, Michael Safi describes reporting in the aftermath. Plus: the Guardian’s chief political correspondent, Jessica Elgot, on what to expect from Brexit now parliament is back

On Easter Sunday, eight explosions killed more than 321 people in Sri Lanka, including 45 children, and left over 500 wounded. It was among the worst terrorist attacks worldwide since 9/11.

The Sri Lankan government has been criticised for a serious security lapse before the suicide bombings, after it was alerted that the terrorist group National Thowheeth Jama’ath was planning to attack churches, but failed to take action against them or pass on the warning. Islamic State has claimed responsibility for the bombings, though as yet there is no evidence to back this up. Sri Lanka’s defence minister said it appeared the attacks were in retaliation for the recent mass shooting in Christchurch, New Zealand.

The Guardian’s South Asia correspondent, Michael Safi, arrived in Sri Lanka on Monday morning. He tells India Rakusen about reporting from some of the locations where the bombs were detonated, and the difficulty of trying to report the facts within the ‘fog of war’. On the day he arrived, Safi found himself caught up in an explosion when bomb squad officials tried to defuse a device found by St Sebastian’s church in Negombo, one of the locations attacked on Easter Sunday.

And: Jessica Elgot, the Guardian’s chief political correspondent, on what happens next for Brexit now parliament is back in session.

