Sri Lanka. The brain behind the attacks radicalized suicide bombers via the internet

The leader of the jihadist attacks on Easter Sunday in Sri Lanka succeeded in training young men in his wake to become suicide bombers by radicalizing them via the internet, say investigators and Muslim officials.

At least 257 people died on Sunday April 21 when a series of suicide bombings targeted luxury hotels and Christian churches in the midst of mass celebration in Sri Lanka .

The jihadist organization Islamic State (IS) claimed responsibility for the attacks, perpetrated according to Colombo by a local Islamist group, the National Thowheeth Jama’ath (NTJ), founded by radical preacher Zahran Hashim.

The man, who was the mastermind of the Easter attacks, perished when he blew himself up at the Shangri-La hotel in the Sri Lankan capital. He had persuaded two brothers from a wealthy family, Ilham Ibrahim and Inshaf Ibrahim, to join him and take part with him in the suicide attacks.

The Ibrahim brothers came from a family that ran a spice business and lived in an opulent mansion in Colombo. They were devout but secretive Muslims who were not active members of a congregation, according to religious officials.

“We suspect that the two brothers used their money from the spice trade to finance the attacks,” said a police investigator. “It seems that the indoctrination took place via the internet, Facebook and YouTube . “

Muslim investigators and officials believe that the members of the commando have used private courier services to communicate with each other and organize themselves.

“It polluted the spirits”

Sri Lankan police released the names and photos of most of the Easter Sunday suicide bombers just this week, prompting members of the Muslim minority, which makes up 10% of Sri Lankans, to try to reconstruct their routes.

“We believe Zahran radicalized these people using Facebook,” said R. Abdul Razik, leader of the moderate group Ceylon Thowheed Jama’ath (CTJ). “Particularly over the past year, he openly called for the killing of non-Muslims,” he adds.

The Sri Lankan state is accused of having failed in its mission to ensure the security of its citizens, even though it had very precise prior information on the risk of attacks from the NTJ.

Several Muslim officials said they had repeatedly reported Zahran Hashim’s extremist speech to the authorities, without them taking action against him.

“We asked the intelligence services to close Zahran’s Facebook page because it polluted the minds of Sri Lankan Muslims , “ said R. Abdul Razik. “We were told it’s best to let him have a page so the authorities can keep an eye on what he’s doing . “

Ilham Ibrahim blew himself up alongside the extremist preacher at the Shangri-La Hotel while Inshaf Ibrahim hit him with the upscale Cinnamon Grand establishment.

The kamikaze at the Kingsbury hotel, located not far from the previous ones, was a man named Mohamed Azzam Mubarak Mohamed. His wife is currently in the hands of the police.

Families

A fourth luxury hotel was on the target list. The man tasked with targeting him, Abdul Latheef, did not blow himself up there for some reason. He set off his explosives hours later at a motel, killing two people.

He had studied aeronautical engineering at Kingston University in the UK and completed post-graduate studies in Melbourne, Australia. According to the Australian press, he was investigated in 2014 by Australian counterterrorism and may have visited Syria.

He also got in touch with Zahran Hashim through Facebook posts and YouTube videos.

Ilham Ibrahim’s pregnant wife, Fathima Ilham, blew herself up during a police raid on their family home in Colombo hours after the attacks. Her two children and three police officers died.

Zahran Hashim’s brother, whose name has not been released, set off a bomb on him five days after the attacks during a police operation in the town of Kalmunai, on the eastern coast of Sri Lanka. He was with three widows of suicide bombers when law enforcement surrounded the house.

Sixteen people were killed there, including six children, relatives of Hashim, and members of the NTJ – which has since been banned.

The suicide bombers who hit Christian churches have been presented as Ahmed Muaz, Mohamed Hasthun and Mohamed Nasser Mohamed Asad. They were little known in their communities, according to Muslim officials.