On Sunday April 21st, 2019, a series of bombings took place across the capital city of Colombo, in the island of Sri Lanka. The cities of Negombo, Batticaloa, Dehiwala, and Dematagoda, were also hit. According to the Sri Lankan Health Ministry, approximately 253 lives were lost, in a well coordinated bombing campaign, that targeted hotels, churches and other buildings.
8:45 am-8:57am:
Colombo: Shrine of St. Anthony Church, Kingsbury Hotel, Cinnamon Grand Hotel, Shangri-La Hotel
Negombo: St. Sebastian’s Church
9:05 am:
Batticaloa: Zion Church
1:45 PM:
Dehiwala: Tropical Inn
2:51 PM
Dematagoda: Housing Complex
The Suspects
- Sri Lanka Government
Prime Minister Ranil Wickremensinghe, said that intelligence on what was known before the attack, was withheld from him, as well as from other governmental groups. Several ministers have called out Defense Minister and President Maithripala Sirisena, who oversees Sri Lanka’s security services, for lack of action. Sirisena himself also claims he was not given the information by the agencies he is in charge of.
Minister of city planning Rauff Hakeem, said that the attacks were a “colossal failure on the part of the intelligence services”.
A then-classified security memo given to the New York Times, shows that Sri Lanka’s security agencies were well aware on the activities of the extremist group National Thowheeth Jama’ath (NTJ). The memo describes various findings from months of surveillance on the Islamic group in detail; from social media posts by group members, to time frames a recruiter used to visit his family, to even exact locations of residence, and other personal information.
The memo is said to have only been circulating among police in charge of “VIP security”, and was not passed outside this small network. One is said to have been addressed to Pujith Jayasundera, the Inspector General of Police.
However India had also informed Sri Lanka about the NTJ. Going as far as to warn them that the group was plotting attacks on various churches. But despite this, Defense Minister and President Maithripala Sirisena has not provided any real response as to why there was nothing done to thwart the attacks. And one of his senior advisors, Shiral Lakthilaka, denied any lapses in security had occurred, exclaiming that “everyone has done their job”, and that “even the U.S. or anyone will not try to panic people”.
Those claims don't seem to hold much water as the Sri Lanka security apparatus knew many vital things in advance:
As far back in January, a group connected to NTJ, was stock piling weapons and detonators.
Several Catholic buildings were planned to be targeted in suicide attacks.
Personal information of members, leaders and family – names, addresses, phone numbers, daily routines.
Hiding locations of leadership
Threats by NTJ members in social media, some apparently referencing the ChristChurch shooting in New Zealand.
They also had several NTJ members under arrest, which included some that were stockpiling weapons.
Despite those claims, Defense Secretary Hemasiri Fernando, and Inspector General of Police, Pujith Jayasundera, were both called by Sirisena to resign on April 24th. Several sources have told the Colombo Page, a Sri Lankan newspaper, that although Hemasiri has already stepped down, Jayasundera has refused to submit his resignation.
Sirisena has also appointed a special committee to investigate the matter.
It is worth noting that this comes after the political turmoil of the 2018th Sri Lankan constitutional crisis, which some refer to as an attempted coup, in which President Maithripala Sirisena fired Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe.
Former President Mahinda Rajapaksa was then put as Prime Minister, but months later he stepped down after much controversy, and failing to secure Parliament majority. Wickremesinghe was then sworn back in as Prime Minister, and is again rubbing elbows with the President that fired him.
- National Thowheeth Jama’ath (NTJ)
The group is said to have formed in response of the 2014 clashes between Buddhists and Muslims, in the island. Buddhists make up the majority (70%), with Christians (7%) and Muslims (10%) as the minorities.
Most of the group’s criminal history revolves around vandalism, most infamously the destruction of several Buddah statues in Mawanella, Sri Lanka. It was during this investigation, however, that the Sri Lankan Criminal Investigation Department (CID) arrested four suspects and interrogated them. The suspects were hiding a large arsenal, buried inside a coconut estate in Puttalam.
The Colombo Page reports that the following were found:
100kg of explosives to manufacture bombs
100 detonators
Illegal firearms
6, 20-liter nitric acid cans
Wire cords
1, 12 bore rifle and ammunition
1 air rifle
2 tents and a stock of food, including dry rations
1 computer
Several cameras
Other illegal and non-illegal items
Afterwards the NTJ was under surveillance by the Sri Lankan security apparatus. India was also surveying the group, due to NTJ’s leader, Mohammed Zaharan, spending time in India. The NTJ was also planning on bombing the Indian Embassy in Sri Lanka.
Social media accounts of several members are said to have been pushing “hateful messages” directed at nonbelievers. The messages had become more threatening after the ChristChurch attacks in New Zealand. The leader Mohammed Zaharan also had a Youtube channel.
The most interesting thing about the group, however, is that most of the suicide bombers were educated and even wealthy. There were 9 suicide bombers in total, with a few being identified:
Abdul Lathief Jameel Mohamed, who attended Kingston University in London, to study Aerospace Engineering, between 2006 and 2007. He then went on to study for his postgraduate degree in Australia, and returned to Sri Lanka in 2013.
Inshaf Ibrahim – one of two brothers who were part of one of the wealthiest families in Sri lanka, who control the spice trade. Inshaf owned a copper factory, and was the man that blew himself up at the Cinnamon Grand hotel restaurant.
Ilham Ibrahim – the second brother, was known for his isolation, and oversaw a pepper farm in the outskirts of Matale. He detonated the bomb at the luxurious Shangri-La restaurant. He is said to have well known, and direct connections to NTJ.
Fatima Ibrahim - Ilham’s wife. She detonated the bomb at a housing complex she was at, which the police were in the process of raiding, after the bombings that morning. She killed herself, her children, and three police officers.
Ilham Ibrahim had specific targets: the Povlsen family, the owners of fashion company Bestseller. They are also the richest family in Denmark, and own more than 1% of land in Scotland.
The Povlsens were visiting Sri Lanka that fateful Easter morning, when Ilham entered the Shangi-La restaurant where Anders Holch Povlsen and his family were having breakfast.
Ilham was caught on CCTV along with NTJ leader Mohammed Zaharan, before he approach Alma, Agnes and Alfred Povlsen, and detonated himself.
- ISIS
Several days later ISIS claimed credit for the attacks. In a video before the attacks, Zaharan and his suicide bombers, are seen standing in front of an ISIS flag.
Several establishment politicians, and FBI Director Christopher Wray, are now claiming that ISIS is not as gone as Trump said. And that the attacks prove that there is supposedly an ISIS “virtual caliphate”.
Many questions still remain unanswered. Why did two successful brothers, who were very active in their business, suddenly decide to throw everything away? Why were the Povlsens targeted? And most importantly, why did Sri Lanka's security agencies decide to let this happen?