24 April 2019 12:01 am
Terror Attacks -- Syrian among those detained
Officials said Indian security agencies had alerted Sri Lanka that another National Thowheeth Jamaath (NTJ) team led by Jal al-Quital alias Rilwan Marzag was likely to carry out more attacks, Hindustan Times reported yesterday.
It said Noufar Moulavi, brother-in-law of Hashim, recently returned to Sri Lanka from Qatar and had taken charge of the group.
The NTJ, the little known group blamed for the bombing of churches and hotels in Sri Lanka on Sunday, appears to have been inspired by Islamic State (IS) though direct links between the two are yet to be established, people familiar with developments said on Monday.
An intelligence officer, who requested anonymity, said the attacks couldn’t have been possible without months of planning and international players travelling to Sri Lanka to take part in the execution at different stages.
The NTJ was formed in Kattankudy, a Muslim-dominated town in eastern Sri Lanka, in 2014. Its founder Zahran Hashim alias Abu Ubaida is believed to have been the suicide bomber who targeted Shangri-La Hotel with military grade explosives.
A video released by Al Ghuraba Media featured the seven suicide bombers allegedly involved in the attacks.
Except for Abu Ubaida, the others had their faces covered and the video had messages in Arabic and Tamil. A caption in the video read “O Crusaders, this bloody day (21-04) is our reward to you”, it said.
A Syrian is among the 40 people being questioned in connection with the Easter Sunday attacks on churches and hotels, Hindustan Times reported quoting government and military sources.
Officials said attacks were carried out by at least seven suicide bombers on three churches and three hotels. However, the focus of suspicion is falling on Islamist militants with links to foreign groups. US intelligence sources said the attacks bore some of the hallmarks of the Islamic State extremist group.
Tuesday was declared a national day of mourning and the funerals of some of the victims were held as pressure mounted on the government over why effective action had not been taken in response to a warning this month about a possible attack on churches by a little-known domestic Islamist group.
Police said the number of people arrested since Sunday had risen to 40, most of them Sri Lankans.
“The investigation of those detainees led to the Syrian. He was arrested after the interrogation of local suspects,” sources told Reuters.