Sri Lanka Says 15 Died in Raid, Including 4 Who Detonated Explosives

A gun battle erupted as Sri Lankan security forces raided a house in search of suspects linked to the Easter Sunday bombings, and four people inside detonated explosives as the authorities closed in.

The security forces said they found the bodies of 15 people inside on Saturday, including six children. A woman and child, both seriously wounded, were evacuated from the house and taken to a hospital, the army said.

The house in the village of Bolivarian on Sri Lanka’s east coast was cordoned off after the overnight raid. But security forces waited until dawn to search it because it is in a crowded neighborhood.

Bolivarian is part of the densely populated, mostly Muslim town of Sainthamaruthu. It is about 25 miles from Batticaloa, where one of the church bombings took place.