Sri Lanka court convicts 15 men over deadly Easter Sunday bombings

The 2019 attacks were the deadliest the country had seen since the end of its civil war. Sri Lanka's High Court has convicted 15 men who had been charged with plotting the 2019 Easter Sunday bomb attacks that killed 270 people and injured more than 500. Those found guilty include Naufer Moulavi, who prosecutors said masterminded the suicide bombings. Nine other men were acquitted. The co-ordinated blasts at three churches and three luxury hotels were the deadliest attack in Sri Lanka since the end of its civil war in 2009. Forty-five foreigners were among the dead. All the bombers who carried out the attacks died in the blasts.

Investigators have previously blamed the attack on Islamist extremists, and the 25 men indicted were from Sri Lanka's Muslim minority. One died in custody. The accused had been charged with more than 23,000 offences, including murder, conspiracy to commit terrorism and possessing firearms. This breaking news story is being updated and more details will be published shortly. Please refresh the page for the fullest version. You can receive Breaking News on a smartphone or tablet via the BBC News App. You can also follow @BBCBreaking on X, external to get the latest alerts.