Sri Lanka Easter bombings victims named 'heroes of faith' by Vatican

The 167 people recognised were Catholics attending mass at churches attacked by suicide bombers.

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The country's cardinal, Malcolm Ranjith, made the announcement at an event to commemorate the sixth anniversary of the suicide attacks which targeted Catholic churches and five star hotels during Easter Sunday mass, killing 269 people.

Those recognised by the Vatican were Catholic faithful attending mass at the churches that were attacked.

The bombings shook the country, which had not seen such levels of violence since the end of a civil war in 2009. However, since then investigations into the attacks have been controversial.

Muslim extremists claimed the attacks, but there has been public criticism from families of the victims and from the island's minority Christian community, who accuse the government of dragging their feet in taking action against those suspected of carrying out the bombings.

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/ckgxk8p5en5o

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