Sri Lanka blasts: A dangerous resurgence of the ISIS
Global Pulse

Sri Lanka blasts: A dangerous resurgence of the ISIS

Intelligence sources say two suicide bombers might be a Sri Lankan millionaire’s sons

   
ISIS claims responsibility for Sri Lanka terror attack

Screengrab from a video released by ISIS showing the alleged mastermind and his disciples who carried out the attack in Sri Lanka | @rcallimachi/Twitter

‘ISIS is recovering from setbacks suffered in Iraq, Syria’

Experts point out that resurgence of the ISIS is a worrying sign, as the end of the ISIS caliphate in Syria and Iraq has not destroyed the attacking capabilities of the group.

Bruce Hoffman, a professor at Georgetown University, who has studied Al Qaeda and other terrorist outfits for decades, told The Cipher Brief, “If the Sri Lanka attacks are conclusively linked to ISIS, then coupled with Sunday’s foiled ISIS attack in Saudi Arabia and the successful one in Kabul, alongside ISIS’s spread to the Congo, this concatenation of developments would indicate that ISIS is recovering from the setbacks it suffered in Syria, Iraq, and Libya in recent years to again become threatening – at least as an international terrorist movement with the capacity to synchronize strikes in multiple countries.”

ISIS claims Sri Lanka terrorist attack

On Tuesday, the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) claimed responsibility for the Sri Lanka’s Easter Sunday bombings. The ISIS first issued a statement, claiming responsibility for the terrorist attack.

Soon a picture and a video showing the alleged mastermind and his disciples who carried out the attack followed the statement.

The alleged mastermind shown in the video is believed to be Mohammed Zaharan. There is little available information about Zaharan, other than the fact that he would often preach at the National Thawheed Jama’ath.

As of now, there is no clarity whether this attack was inspired by the ISIS ideology or the attackers were taking direct instructions from the ISIS commanders. Given the video was released by the official ISIS news agency, it is possible that the Sri Lankan attackers were in contact with the ISIS leadership.

Two of the suicide bombers might be a millionaire’s sons

A report by Firstpost said that information given by Indian intelligence sources suggested the two of the suicide bombers might be the sons of millionaire Sri Lankan businessman Mohammed Yusuf Ibrahim. His sons, Imsath Ahmed Ibrahim and Illham Ahmed Ibrahim, left their home in Dematagoda, and blew themselves up in the Cinnamon Grand and the Shangri-La Hotels.

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