sri lanka soldiers church attacks
© Reuters/Dinuka LiyanawatteSri Lankan military stand guard in front of the St. Anthony's Shrine.
Sri Lankan authorities have taken seven suspects into custody, who they believe may be connected with a series of bombings on Easter Sunday. Three police officers were reportedly killed in the raid.

The law enforcement deaths happened when they stormed a safehouse in Dematagoda, an area outside Colombo where the eighth explosion happened, a defense official said. A total of seven people were taken into custody in connection with the bombings.

Sri Lankan authorities have imposed an island-wide nightly curfew and a suspension of social media.

In a statement for the media, State Minister of Defense Ruwan Wijewardene said the curfew will remain in place "until things settle down." He said the culprits of the attacks on Sri Lankan hotels and churches "have been identified" and will be taken into custody. He did not name those responsible, however.

The use of social media has been temporarily banned as part of the curfew, according to Harsha de Silva, the minister of economic reforms and public distribution. Locals are required to stay indoors for 12 hours - from 6pm to 6am.

Most of the targets are located in or near Colombo, Sri Lanka's largest city and commercial capital. Shortly afterwards, two more explosions were reported, one of them killing two more people. No group has so far claimed responsibility for the apparently coordinated bombings.