Sri Lanka: Blast in town east of Colombo, no casualties

Police keep watch outside the family home of a bomber suspect where an explosion occurred during a Special Task Force raid, following a string of suicide attacks on churches and luxury hotels, in Colombo, Sri Lanka April 25, 2019. (Reuters)

An explosion occurred in a town east of the Sri Lankan capital, Colombo, on Thursday but there were no casualties, a police spokesman said.

Spokesman Ruwan Gunasekera said police were investigating the blast on empty land behind the magistrate's court in Pugoda, 40 km (25 miles).

"There was an explosion behind the court, we are investigating," he said, adding it was not a controlled explosion like other blasts in recent days.

The blast came at a time of high tension in Sri Lanka following the Easter Sunday suicide bomber attacks on the island state that killed 359 people and wounded about 500.

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