New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi will visit the three churches bombed on Easter this year in Sri Lankan while he is on a visit to his third island nation on Saturday and pay his tributes to those killed in the serial terror attacks.

Earlier, PM Modi had visited Sri Lanka in 2015 and 2017.

This way, Modi would be the first foreign leader to visit Sri Lanka after the Easter bombings that claimed the lives of over 250 people, including 11 Indians.

On April 21 this year, an Easter Sunday, three churches across Colombo were bombed apart from several top end hotels by Islamic suicide bombers. Later, as the country was coming to grips with the tragedy, smaller explosions took place at Dematagoda and Dehiwala.
 
According to official estimates, at least 258 people were killed, including 45 foreign nationals amiong which were 11 Indians. The church bombings happened at Negombo, Batticaloa and Colombo.

Also read – Easter bombings: MEA asks Indians travelling to Sri Lanka to be careful, vigilant

The hotels that were bombed were the Shangri-La, Cinnamon Grand, Kingsbury and Tropical Inn.

According to Sri Lankan authorities, the seven suicide bombers were associated with the National Thowheeth Jama'ath, a local militant Islamist group with suspected foreign ties, already known for attacks against Buddhists and Sufis.