16 people were killed in Sri Lanka after police raided a house suspected of harboring terrorists

Days after a series of bombings killed more than 200 people in Sri Lanka on Sunday, 16 more people died in the country after police raided a house, which was reportedly harboring suspected terrorists, in the town of Sainthamaruthu on Friday.

During the raid, gunmen fired on police and three men reportedly set off explosives in the house, killing six children and three women. Another woman was reportedly killed in the crossfire as she passed the house on a rickshaw. Six suspected terrorists were also killed.

Two of the suspected terrorists, who are believed to be affiliated with National Tawheed Jamath, a local extremist Islamist group, are reportedly on the run following the raid.

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National Tawheed Jamath is being blamed for the Easter Sunday attacks, but has not claimed responsibility. The Islamic State, however, has done so. While several analysts suspect that, at the very least, National Tawheed Jamath took inspiration from ISIS in carrying out the bombings, no link between the two groups has been proven.