Sri Lanka Bombings: Saudi Arabia Arrests 2, Acting on Indian Intel

Tipped off by India, Saudi Arabia arrests two people with links to Sri Lanka bombings mastermind, Zahran Hashim.

Sri Lankans carry coffins bearing the remains of Berington Joseph, left, and Burlington Bevon, right, who were killed in the Easter Sunday bombings in Colombo, Sri Lanka.

(Photo: AP)

Saudi Arabia has reportedly arrested two people with links to the Sri Lanka bombings mastermind, Zahran Hashim. Acting on inputs from Indian intelligence, Saudi Arabia arrested Maulana Rila, who is Hashim’s brother in law and a colleague of his named Shahnawaj, reported Hindustan Times.

Zahran Hashim, who died in an attack on the Shangri-La hotel on 21 April, was the leader of the National Towheed Jama’at.

Indian security agencies are reportedly already in talks with Saudi Arabian agencies to find out if there is any link between the IS cadres responsible for the Sri Lanka bombings and the Kasargode-Coimbatore module, reported HT.

Meanwhile, India had reportedly alerted Sri Lankan security agencies on multiple occasions in April, including two hours before the suicide bombings on 21 April. Aside from warning about the timing of the attacks, India had also allegedly provided the names of the three churches that were under threat.

At least 253 people were killed and over 500 sustained injuries due to suicide bombings in multiple locations including churches in Negombo, Batticaloa and Colombo during Easter services. Suicide attacks were also carried out in hotels like Shangri-La, Cinnamon Grand, Kingsbury and Tropical Inn.

Hindustan Times reported that Foreign Secretary Vijay Gokhale asked the Tata owned Indian Hotels Company Limited to install security scanners and detectors at their three properties in Sri Lanka soon after the attacks, as all the bombers were not accounted for. One of the HCIL owned hotels, Taj Samudra, was on the radar of bomber Abdul Latif Mohammed Jamil who carried out the attack at Tropical Inn instead after he couldn’t trigger his device at Taj Samudra.