FBI Special Agent confirms Zahran Hashim as mastermind behind Easter Sunday attacks

Govt. still talks of an elusive mastermind

Jahran Mohamed Cassim also known as (aka) Mohamed Cassim Mohamed Zahran aka Zahran Hashim was the  mastermind behind the Easter Sunday attacks

By Kelum Bandara 

The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) of the United  States, which conducted investigations into serial bombings on Easter  Sunday in 2019, has clearly mentioned Zahran Hashim as the mastermind of the attack.

“Before detonating the IED (Improvised Explosive Device)  that killed himself and scores of victims, Jahran Mohamed Cassim also known as (aka) Mohamed Cassim Mohamed Zahran aka Zahran Hashim was the  mastermind behind the Easter Sunday attacks and the self-proclaimed leader of ISIS in Sri Lanka, FBI Special Agent Merrilee R.Goodwin said in an affidavit related to the criminal case filed on December 11, 2020, in the U.S. District Court in Los Angeles.  

It is the result of a nearly two-year investigation by the  FBI, which assisted Sri Lankan authorities in the wake of the suicide  bombings that targeted Christian churches and luxury hotels frequented  by Westerners. In the attack, 268 persons were killed, and over 500 injured.  Among the killed were five US citizens.    Three Sri Lankan citizens have been charged with terrorism  offences, including conspiring to provide material support to a  designated foreign terrorist organisation (ISIS). The men were part of a  group of ISIS supporters which called itself “ISIS in Sri Lanka”.   The issue is once again in the news because former MP Udaya  Gammanpila shared a copy of the affidavit with the local press by  posting it on his website.    According to the report, Zahran had communicated with the  ISIS leadership in Syria and obtained approval to operate as an ISIS  affiliate.   

Following the attack, the then Sri Lankan government asked for assistance from the United States.   

Within hours FBI deployed personnel to Sri Lanka to assist  Sri Lankan authorities and to conduct investigations. The FBI collected  and processed evidence, identified attackers and their associates,  coordinated medical treatment of injured Americans and the return of  five deceased U.S. citizens.    FBI Special Agent Merrilee R.Goodwin, in an affidavit to the District Court of California in the United, informed it.    He informed court that he had wide experience in the  conduct of investigations into designated foreign terrorist  organisations, including ISIS.   

“From my work on these investigations, I have learnt the  organisational and operational strategies employed by terrorists, the  vernacular they use, including Arabic terms, and the Islamist ideology. I  have deployed overseas several times to investigate terrorist attacks  and crimes against United States nationals. In that role, I have  processed crime scenes, collected evidence, and conducted interviews,”  he said in the affidavit.