Two Is Men Linked To Easter Blasts

They had returned from Syria and Iraq, Sri Lankan sleuths have found

- Meera Srinivasan

Two suspects involved in the deadly Easter attacks in Sri Lanka are Islamic State (IS) returnees from Syria and Iraq, investigators have found.

The suspects’ exact role in planning and executing the ghastly serial bombings remains unclear, but Sri Lankan intelligence has established that the two young men were IS-trained, The Hindu learns from a Colombo-based source who was part of a recent, high-level discussion on the attacks. “Now the pieces of the puzzle should start coming together,” the source said, requesting anonymity.

Two years ago, Sri Lanka highlighted over 30 of its youth joining IS in Syria.

They came from “well-educated, affluent families”, the then Justice Minister told Parliament in November 2016. But in the three years since, Sri Lankan authorities have made no public mention of any threat from radical Islamist forces in the island.

Not even when they arrested a group of Muslim youth last December for vandalising Buddha statues.

They suspected that the youth had links with militant organisations abroad, but the findings since are unclear to many, the source said.