8 arrested in Sri Lanka as death toll climbs to 207

Eight people have been arrested in connection with a string of eight deadly blasts that killed 207 people and injured more than 450 in Sri Lanka Sunday, the country's prime minister said.

Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe said "so far the names that have come up are local," but that investigators would look into whether the attackers had any "overseas links".

The foreign minister says at least 27 foreigners were among those killed three police officers were killed during a security forces raid on a house in the Sri Lankan capital several hours after the attacks, many of which officials said were suicide bomb explosions.

In just one church, St. Sebastian's in Katuwapitiya, north of Colombo, more than 50 people had been killed, a police official told Reuters, with pictures showing bodies on the ground, blood on the pews and a destroyed roof.

Media reported 25 people were also killed in an attack on a church in Batticaloa in Eastern Province.

Among the hotels hit were the Shangri-La Colombo, Kingsbury Hotel and Cinnamon Grand Colombo. It was unclear whether there were any casualties in the hotels.

There were no immediate claims of responsibility for the attacks in a country which was at war for decades with Tamil separatists until 2009 during which bomb blasts in the capital were common.

The defense ministry has ordered a night-time curfew, beginning Sunday night at 6:00pm local time (1230 GMT) and run until 6:00am local time (0030 GMT), while the government said it had shutdown access to major social media and messaging services.

One of the explosions was at St. Anthony's Church in Kochcikade, Colombo.

St. Sebastian's church posted pictures of destruction inside the church on its Facebook page, showing blood on pews and the floor, and requested help from the public.

The archbishop of Paris and parishioners of fire-ravaged Notre Dame Cathedral are mourning the victims of the attacks.