Sri Lanka blasts: Emerging face of terror is young, middle class & foreign-educated

For the first time on Wednesday, the Sri Lankan govt gave out details of the terrorists involved in Sunday’s carnage that killed 359 people. In all, it was a band of nine, well-educated Islamist suicide bombers, including a woman, from well-to-do families. The woman blew herself before she could be captured in their hideout in Dematagoda, a suburb of Sri Lanka. She has also been established as the wife of one of the suicide bombers.

Most of them had gone abroad for education, with one going to UK to study law and later going to Australia for a sports degree. “Most of the bombers are well-educated, come from economically strong families,” said Wijewardene.

“One of them we know went to the UK, then went to Australia for a law degree. Foreign partners, including the UK, are helping us with those investigations.”

Two of the bombers were brothers, sons of a wealthy spice trader and pillar of the business community, a source close to the family said.

Intelligence officials and Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe believe that Zahran, a Tamil-speaking preacher from the east of the Indian Ocean island country, may have been the mastermind. He was well-known for his militant views and fiery Facebook posts, according to Muslim leaders and a Sri Lankan intelligence report.

A total of 60 people have been detained for questioning across Colombo, Wijewardene said. That total includes a Syrian, according to security sources.

(with agency inputs)

GROUPS ON RADAR

Government suspects two Sri Lankan Islamist groups — the National Thawheed Jama’ut, and Jammiyathul Millathu Ibrahim — with outside help