Ampara: Police walked sniffer dogs through a weekly Sunday market in Ampara as security remained tight in Sri Lanka a week after the Easter bombings.
The nearby town of Sammanthurai was also the location of a gunfight between police and militants on Friday which left 15 dead, including six children, and added to the tension in the district capital.
Trader Chandima Krishanthi said business was 'non-existent' as people were now 'living in fear' and too scared to come to the market.
YG Karunarathne had made the trip to buy produce but said where previously Muslims, Tamils and Sinhalese lived 'in peace and harmony', there was now a divide.
Police seized bomb-making materials, including fertilizer, gunpowder, sulphuric acid and ball bearings after Friday's gun battle, which began when militants opened fire and set off explosives in suicide bombings as security forces closed in on their safe house.
The Islamic State group, meanwhile, claimed three of the militants who blew themselves up during the raid and an IS flag was found within the compound.
Read more: IS claims responsibility for SL ambush that killed 17
