COLOMBO: Sri Lanka has banned drones and unmanned aircraft and set off more controlled detonations of suspicious items. The attacks Easter Sunday mainly at churches and hotels killed at least 359 people and wounded more than 500 in and around the capital of Colombo.
Sri Lanka’s civil aviation authority said that it was taking the aircraft measure “in view of the existing security situation in the country.”
Hobby drones have been used by militants in the past to carry explosives. Iraqi forces found them difficult to shoot down while driving out the Islamic State group, whose members loaded drones with grenades or simple explosives to target government forces. And Yemen’s Houthi rebels has used drones, most recently to target a military parade in January, killing troops.
Sri Lankan police continued their search for explosives, detonating a suspicious item in a garbage dump in Pugoda, about 35 kilometers (22 miles) east of Colombo. (Agencies)
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