(Bloomberg) -- Sri Lankan troops found 15 bodies, including those of six children, during a raid in the island nation's east.
The bodies were found after a shootout on Friday evening between suspected terrorists and military troops in the Sahindamaradu area, police spokesman Ruwan Gunasekera said by phone. A large cache of explosives was also found.
The military raids were part of investigations into a devastating series of blasts across high-end hotels and churches in Sri Lanka that killed about 253 people on Easter Sunday. The U.S. State Department has warned that groups “continue plotting possible attacks.” Islamic State had claimed responsibility for the blasts.
Read More: The Violent Backdrop to Sri Lanka's Deadly Bombings: QuickTake
Soldiers recovered explosives, ISIS flags, suicide kits and military uniforms in another raid in the Samanthurai area on Friday, a military spokesman said in a statement.
To contact the reporters on this story: Anindya Upadhyay in New Delhi at aupadhyay22@bloomberg.net;Asantha Sirimanne in Colombo at asirimanne@bloomberg.net
To contact the editors responsible for this story: Shamim Adam at sadam2@bloomberg.net, Anto Antony, John McCluskey
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