The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) of the United States, which conducted investigations into serial bombings on Easter Sunday in 2019, has clearly mentioned Zahran Hashim as the mastermind of the attack.
“Before detonating the IED (Improvised Explosive Device) that killed himself and scores of victims, Jahran Mohamed Cassim also known as (aka) Mohamed Cassim Mohamed Zahran aka Zahran Hashim was the mastermind behind the Easter Sunday attacks and the self-proclaimed leader of ISIS in Sri Lanka, FBI Special Agent Merrilee R.Goodwin said in an affidavit related to the criminal case filed on December 11, 2020, in the U.S. District Court in Los Angeles.
It is the result of a nearly two-year investigation by the FBI, which assisted Sri Lankan authorities in the wake of the suicide bombings that targeted Christian churches and luxury hotels frequented by Westerners. In the attack, 268 persons were killed, and over 500 injured. Among the killed were five US citizens.
Three Sri Lankan citizens have been charged with terrorism offences, including conspiring to provide material support to a designated foreign terrorist organisation (ISIS). The men were part of a group of ISIS supporters which called itself “ISIS in Sri Lanka”.
The issue is once again in the news because former MP Udaya Gammanpila shared a copy of the affidavit with the local press by posting it on his website.
According to the report, Zahran had communicated with the ISIS leadership in Syria and obtained approval to operate as an ISIS affiliate.
Following the attack, the then Sri Lankan government asked for assistance from the United States.
Within hours FBI deployed personnel to Sri Lanka to assist Sri Lankan authorities and to conduct investigations. The FBI collected and processed evidence, identified attackers and their associates, coordinated medical treatment of injured Americans and the return of five deceased U.S. citizens.
FBI Special Agent Merrilee R.Goodwin, in an affidavit to the District Court of California in the United, informed it.
He informed court that he had wide experience in the conduct of investigations into designated foreign terrorist organisations, including ISIS.
“From my work on these investigations, I have learnt the organisational and operational strategies employed by terrorists, the vernacular they use, including Arabic terms, and the Islamist ideology. I have deployed overseas several times to investigate terrorist attacks and crimes against United States nationals. In that role, I have processed crime scenes, collected evidence, and conducted interviews,” he said in the affidavit.
