Sri Lanka: 15 killed, including children, in police raid on suspected militants linked to Easter bombings

The bodies of 15 people, including six children, have been found following a raid on a house linked to suspected Islamist militants, Sri Lankan police said Saturday.

Three explosions went off Friday night as police commandos, backed by the army, engaged in a gunbattle at a suspected militant hideout in Sainthamaruthu, 360 kilometers (224 miles) east of the capital, Colombo, police said. A civilian also died after getting caught in the crossfire.

Read more: How did Islamist terrorism take hold in Sri Lanka?

The militants were believed to be linked with last weekend's spate of deadly Easter bombings, which killed more than 250 people.

Police said that one or more suicide bombers detonated the blasts as security forces attempted to storm the house.

At least three of the dead were suspected members of the National Towheed Jama'at (NTJ), which has been blamed for last Sunday's attacks.

The shootout came hours after security forces raided a nearby property, where they believe Islamist extremists recorded a video pledge to the "Islamic State" (IS) terror group before carrying out the Easter bombings. Police said they seized dozens of sticks of dynamite, an IS flag and uniforms similar to those worn by the fighters who appeared in the video, which was released by IS two days after the attacks.