Day of mourning following Sri Lanka attacks

Sri Lanka has held its first mass funeral as the country marks a day of mourning for the victims of Easter Sunday's bomb blasts.

Sri Lanka was rocked by a series of bombings that killed more than 300 people at churches and top-end hotels in the deadliest violence seen in the country since the end of the civil war a decade ago. It is also believed that 500 people were injured during the attacks.

The government says a little-known jihadist group, known as National Thowheed Jamath (NTJ), was behind the attacks and police have made a number of arrests, with 40 suspects detained in connection with the attack. The NTJ group has no history of large-scale attacks but came to prominence last year when it was blamed for damaging Buddhist statues.

Sri Lankan Defence Minister Ruwan Wijewardene has claimed that the bombings were a response to the recent mass shooting in Christchurch, New Zealand.

A state of emergency has provided police and the military with sweeping powers to detain and interrogate suspects without court orders - powers that were last used during the nation's civil war.

It has since been reported that Sri Lankan authorities were warned about the group accused in the bombings. However, ministers have said that Prime Minister, Ranil Wickremesinghe, and the cabinet were not informed by police following the warnings from local security agencies.

The death toll currently sits at 321. ISIS has claimed responsibility for teh attack, although no evidence has been given to support such claims. Many are sceptical given a spate of false claims in the last few years.