The attacks on churches in Sri Lanka in 2019 were very well planned and coordinated.
Serial blasts execution requires detailed planning and coordination till the last moment to ensure that all bombs go off and desired effect is achieved.
The following aspects emerge and point towards this aspect:-
The day selected for the strike was an important one of Easter Celebrations, which would ensure that there would be maximum attendance.
There was yet another smart thinking. Police would be there, but would be focused more at management of the religious celebrations.
Its obvious that the Churches were probably supposed to be targeted in the first phase, starting with St Sebastin’s Church, Negambo at 8.25 am followed by St Anthony’s Church at 8. 45 am.
Probably the change of target delayed the action at Batticaloa with Zion Church at 9.05 am.
In the second phase the five star hotels were planned, starting with Kingsbury and Cinnamon Grand Hotels at 9.15 am followed by Shangrila Hotel and Tropical Inn the last.
The coordination of the attack has been well thought out and rehearsed to ensure that success is achieved and attacks carried out well.
It is a known fact that ISIS engineers in Iraq and Syria are known to have set up industrial-scale operations to produce Tri Acetone Tri Peroxide (TATP), while hundreds of cadre were given classes in manufacturing this explosive.
The Sri Lanka terror cell had stockpiled chemicals at a safe-house in Wanathawilluwa, which investigators believe were meant to bomb Buddhist monuments in the city of Anuradhapura.
This stockpile was seized in a police raid in early 2019, though, a fresh stockpile was put together in Sainthamaruthu, near Hashim’s home-town.
Fifteen persons (Hashim’s father, Mohamed Hashim, & brothers Zainee Hashim, Rilwan Hashim, three women and six children) were killed during a police raid in Sainthamaruthu which was carried out soon after the stockpile was discovered.
On 21 April, 2019, Easter Sunday,
three churches in Sri Lanka and three luxury hotels in Colombo were targeted in a series of coordinated terrorist suicide bombings in the morning between 0825 h and 0920 h and later from 1400h – 1415h, there were smaller explosions at a housing complex in Dematagoda and a guest house in Dehiwala.
Approximately 280 plus people were killed, including at least 42 foreign nationals and three police officers, and at least 500 were injured. The church bombings were carried out during Easter services in Colombo, Negombo and Batticaloa.
According to a few military officers who served in Sri Lanka --
Tamils and Muslims.
The Tamils and Muslim had co resided in the Northern and Easter Province.
The conflict between Sri Lankan state and LTTE during the Civil War engulfed complete Northern and Eastern Sri Lanka and thus bringing the Muslims into the ring of fire.
The LTTE ordered all Muslims to move out from the Northern Province, resulting an exodus from Jaffna.
Subsequently tried the same in Eastern province where there is a larger population of Muslims. But, despite targeting Muslims including the famous attack on two Mosques by LTTE cadres in Kattankudy, Batticaloa killing 250 persons in 1990, Muslims did not move out.
In Jul 2006 the closing of Mavil Aru reservoir, Mutur Area of Trincomalee, stopping the water supply to mainly Muslim areas was one of the main reasons for the start of Eelam War IV (last phase of Civil War).
Another aspect ought to taken into consideration is "Sri Lankan anti-Muslim riots of 2018".
On 26 Feb 2018 Sinhalese – Muslim riots began in the Sri Lankan town of Ampara, spreading to Kandy District and continued with sporadic incidents till 2 March ending 10 March 2018.
Muslim citizens, mosques and properties were attacked and Muslim mobs attacked Buddhist Temples and Sinhalese citizens.
The Sri Lankan government undertook a forceful crackdown on the rioting by imposing a state of emergency and deploying the Sri Lanka armed to assist the Police in the affected areas.
National Thouheed Jama’at (NJT) in Sri Lanka
The NTJ is a splinter group of the Sri Lanka Thouheed Jamaat (SLTJ).
The SLTJ is a radical Salafist Islamist group which was formed in a Muslim majority town, Kattankudy, Batticaloa District of the Eastern Province in 2014.
The SLTJ has been active as an extremist, fundamentalist Islamic organization; not as a terror organization, according to some.
The SLTJ was a group gaining prominence and drawing its influence from the Tamil Nadu Thowheed Jamaat (TNTJ).
As per reports “majority of Sri Lankan Muslims are against this movement.
On 7 November 2015, many Muslims conducted demonstrations on the streets of Colombo to protest against the planned visit of the extremist Tamil Nadu Muslim leader Moulvi P Jainul Abideen (PJ) the founder of TNTJ.
Abdul Razik, secretary, SLTJ was arrested in 2016 for inciting hatred against Buddhists, later issued an apology.
Some reports have also linked the NTJ to a spate of vandalism last December that targeted Buddhist temples in Mawanella, central Sri Lanka.
The faces of Buddha statues that were on display outside the temples were attacked.
Final words and ISIS Influence ::
The ISIS has been a very striking proposition to youth of Sri Lanka, as the idea of an Islamic State was very well packaged and sold by ISIS undertaking a media blitzkrieg utilizing its very large presence in all types of social media platforms.
Youths indoctrinated -- like Bees to Honey.
The news of Sri Lankan’s being part of ISIS was broken when media reports were published in July 2015 regarding two Sri Lankan nationals fighting with the Islamic State in Syria and Iraq.
Sri Lanka’s prime minister subsequently ordered investigations into possible Islamic State influence in the country to fathom the levels of radicalization among its minority Muslim populace.
It is claimed that approximately 30 odd youths have participated as part of ISIS around 2015-16.
It is not known exactly how many joined or approximately as to how many have returned after the collapse of the ISIS Caliphate.
Maldives has the largest number of persons fighting as part of ISIS as per population of country.
A large number of these were fighting as part of AL Qeeda earlier and ISIS later.
Most of them transited to and fro through Sri Lanka when moving out of Maldives and this has surely influenced radical elements in Sri Lanka, whom they have come in contact with.
ends
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