The suspected leader of the militant group Sri Lankan authorities said carried out a series of Easter Sunday bombings died in the blast at the Shangri-La hotel, one of six hotels and churches targeted in the attacks that killed at least 250 people, officials said Friday.

The father of two of the suspected Easter suicide bombers was arrested on suspicion of aiding his sons on Thursday, according to Sri Lanka's former navy chief, as investigators continued to comb his Colombo mansion for evidence of the attacks that killed 359 people.