Sri Lanka - News and Discussion- Post PM appointment crisis

The Strategic Issues & International Relations Forum is a venue to discuss issues pertaining to India's security environment, her strategic outlook on global affairs and as well as the effect of international relations in the Indian Subcontinent. We request members to kindly stay within the mandate of this forum and keep their exchanges of views, on a civilised level, however vehemently any disagreement may be felt. All feedback regarding forum usage may be sent to the moderators using the Feedback Form or by clicking the Report Post Icon in any objectionable post for proper action. Please note that the views expressed by the Members and Moderators on these discussion boards are that of the individuals only and do not reflect the official policy or view of the Bharat-Rakshak.com Website. Copyright Violation is strictly prohibited and may result in revocation of your posting rights - please read the FAQ for full details. Users must also abide by the Forum Guidelines at all times.
chetak
BRF Oldie
Posts: 32283
Joined: 16 May 2008 12:00

Re: Sri Lanka - News and Discussion

Post by chetak »

ramana wrote:Guys don't get into regional cat fight.
This SL Easter attack.is very problematic for India.
Don't look at it as SL problem only but as a symptom of militant Islam.

And concentrate on Pak role.
major cultural roots of both communities affected in SL originate in the same geographical region outside SL.

Operational controls for both are offshore, one semetic and the other western.

a conclusive paki role has yet to emerge but things are seemingly tending in that general direction.

let us wait and watch how the cookie crumbles.
chetak
BRF Oldie
Posts: 32283
Joined: 16 May 2008 12:00

Re: Sri Lanka - News and Discussion

Post by chetak »

Sri Lanka bombings carry a stark message for India



Sri Lanka bombings carry a stark message for India

The main group behind the bombings, the National Thowheed Jamath (NTJ), is an ideological offspring of the rapidly growing, Saudi-funded Tamil Nadu Thowheed Jamath (TNTJ)

Apr 26, 2019,
Brahma Chellaney.



The Sri Lanka bombings — one of the world’s deadliest acts of terrorism — highlight the growing terrorist threat to democratic, secular states. Far from a concerted and sustained global war on terror, the anti-terrorism fight is being undermined by geopolitics. The global ideological movement fuelling terrorism is Wahhabi jihadism. Yet, the US-ordered total ban on Iranian oil exports from May 3 will reward this jihadism’s financiers.

Despite specific and detailed Indian intelligence warnings, Sri Lanka failed to avert the bombings, in large part because of a divided and dysfunctional government. However, Sri Lanka was quick to detain the bombers’ family members for questioning once the suicide killers were identified. By contrast, the Pulwama bomber’s family members not only remained free but also gave media interviews rationalising the suicide attack.

Sri Lanka has a blood-soaked history, but the scale and intensity of the latest attacks were unprecedented. The coordinated bombings, in less than 30 minutes, killed more people than the 2008 Mumbai terrorist siege, which lasted nearly four days. Actually, in terms of sophisticated methods and synchronised lethality, they were eerily similar to the 1993 serial bombings that targeted Mumbai. Jihadists have long used India as a laboratory: Major acts of terror first tried out in India and then replicated elsewhere include attacks on symbols of State authority, mid-air bombing of a commercial jetliner and coordinated strikes on a city transportation system.

The series of extraordinary steps Sri Lanka took after the bombings — blocking social media, imposing a daily dusk-to-dawn curfew, closing schools until April 29 and proclaiming an emergency law — may seem unthinkable in terrorism-scarred but rights-oriented India. But such measures were necessary to maintain control and to deter large-scale reprisal attacks against Muslims.


Ironically, in the days leading up to the Sri Lanka bombings, the 2008 Mumbai attacks were back in the news in India because of Bharatiya Janata Party candidate Pragya Thakur’s controversial comment on Hemant Karkare, the police officer gunned down in that siege. The irony of ironies is that those 26/11 attacks received more Indian attention this month than on their 10th anniversary five months ago. This underscores a troubling truth: Nothing draws the attention of Indians more than political controversy, however petty.

The Spanish-American philosopher George Santayana famously said, “Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.” This is especially true of India, which — far from heeding the 26/11 lessons — doesn’t remember its martyrs. How many Indians know the name of Tukaram Omble, the “hero among heroes” of 26/11? An ex-army soldier, who became a police assistant sub-inspector, Omble — by ensuring terrorist Ajmal Kasab’s capture alive — provided the clinching evidence of Pakistan’s involvement in 26/11. Kasab was captured after the ambush killing of six cops, including Karkare and additional commissioner Ashok Kamte. Omble grabbed the barrel of Kasab’s AK-47 and took a volley of fired bullets, allowing others to seize Kasab.

All the 10 Pakistani terrorists involved in 26/11 wore red string wristbands for Hindus that Pakistani-American David Headley got for them from Mumbai’s Siddhivinayak Temple. But for Kasab’s capture (and confession) helping to indisputably establish Pakistan’s direct involvement, Pakistan’s wicked plan was to portray 26/11 as exemplifying the rise of Hindu terrorism by capitalising on the then Manmohan Singh government’s classification of the 2006-07 blasts in Malegaon, Ajmer Sharif, Mecca Masjid and Samjhauta Express as “Hindu terror”.

Omble’s extraordinary bravery thus should never be forgotten. Nor the sacrifices of the other 26/11 martyrs awarded the Ashok Chakra — Sandeep Unnikrishnan, Gajender Singh, Vijay Salaskar, Karkare and Kamte. The 26/11 siege affected the national psyche more deeply than any other terrorist attack. Yet such is India’s lack of a sense of remembrance that it laid the Kartarpur Corridor’s cornerstone on the 10th anniversary of 26/11, with an oblivious Indian vice president calling it a “historic day”. Pakistan couldn’t have received a better gift from India.

Make no mistake: The Sri Lanka attacks hold major implications for Indian security, in part because the main group behind the bombings, the National Thowheed Jamath (NTJ), is an ideological offspring of the rapidly growing, Saudi-funded Tamil Nadu Thowheed Jamath (TNTJ). The TNTJ, wedded to fanatical Wahhabism, rails against idolaters. It helped establish the Sri Lanka Thowheed Jamath, from which the bomber outfit NTJ emerged as a splinter.

Like the 2016 brutal Dhaka café attack, the Sri Lanka slaughter was carried out by educated Islamists from well-off families. And just as Bangladesh blamed Pakistan’s Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) for the attack, the NTJ has ties with ISI’s front organisation, Lashkar-e-Taiba, which, through its Sri Lanka operations, has sought links with the TNTJ in India. NTJ leader Zaharan Hashim was inspired by fugitive Indian preacher Zakir Naik’s sermons and received funds from Indian jihadists. It would be paradoxical if India, which tipped off Sri Lanka about the bombing plot, became a victim itself of Thowheed Jamat terror. First of all, it must outlaw the TNTJ.

Brahma Chellaney is a geostrategist
ramana
Forum Moderator
Posts: 59773
Joined: 01 Jan 1970 05:30

Re: Sri Lanka - News and Discussion

Post by ramana »

chetak, Looking at the SL Govt response its clear that they had the warnings, they had knowledge of the perpetrators from other sources like Police raids and seizures, Buddhist statues' attacks. yet they did not act due to executive indecision or mental block.
I have this sneaky suspicion they thought these dregs were forming up to attack India and hence did not act.
I would like to gather all and nay information on Pak High Commission role with these NTJ folks.

What I find interesting is in India it is Kerala Muslim recruits who go to ISIS not the TN Muslims.
In SL its the Tamil convert Muslims who go to ISIS.
I think there is a clue in this puzzle as to why SL Govt turned a blind eye.
arshyam
BRF Oldie
Posts: 4570
Joined: 11 Aug 2016 06:14

Re: Sri Lanka - News and Discussion

Post by arshyam »

The American ambassador's rather pointed statement, that too in public (Reuters) is interesting. The normal practice as far as I know is that any intel is shared with the host government and an advisory may be issued for own citizens. This allows the host government to focus on the intel and resolve the situation, while allowing them flexibility to follow their own communication strategy. Such a public statement on the other hand could only cause panic and potential distrust of the host government. We already have seen another public statement by a bishop or some similar high official of the SL Catholic church, saying not much has been done to resolve the threats.

Putting all this together, what is the Americans' game plan here?

Another thing to note are the multiple public acknowledgements of GoI's contribution, something rarely seen in western media.
ramana
Forum Moderator
Posts: 59773
Joined: 01 Jan 1970 05:30

Re: Sri Lanka - News and Discussion

Post by ramana »

The US envoy has lost the plot. The person has pointed fingers to India in order to curry favor with Pakistan to not upset the Taliban talks for US troop withdrawal.

If as I suspect Pak HC is fully involved in smuggling the C4 found, then this person has lost confidence to work in the area.
Would not be surprised if a new person is sent after decent interval as part of reshuffle.
chetak
BRF Oldie
Posts: 32283
Joined: 16 May 2008 12:00

Re: Sri Lanka - News and Discussion

Post by chetak »

ramana wrote:chetak, Looking at the SL Govt response its clear that they had the warnings, they had knowledge of the perpetrators from other sources like Police raids and seizures, Buddhist statues' attacks. yet they did not act due to executive indecision or mental block.
I have this sneaky suspicion they thought these dregs were forming up to attack India and hence did not act.
I would like to gather all and nay information on Pak High Commission role with these NTJ folks.

What I find interesting is in India it is Kerala Muslim recruits who go to ISIS not the TN Muslims.
In SL its the Tamil convert Muslims who go to ISIS.
I think there is a clue in this puzzle as to why SL Govt turned a blind eye.
this is why I have been making so many posts hoping someone has the missing pieces of the jigsaw or posts something that would help connect the dots.

The GoSL agreed too readily and too easily that it had got all the detailed info from the Indian agencies.

The GoI released detailed info publicly, something it has not done before and something very abnormal for the spooks to do.

The SLs have also accepted all the blame for the entire fiasco. very unusual again because of the tight political position all the parties involved (president + PM) are currently in, even before the bombings.

the roots of the jamaath movement reach back to funding from TN, most tamil ROP/ROL seem to be one time tamils who converted to ROP and ROL and maybe second/third generation by now and the main conspirator making India visit(s) has also been acknowledged.

the multiple bombings either mean that someone had decided tidy up all the loose ends at one go and to leave scorched earth behind and the SLs had decided to limit the damage by firewalling it or that it was a conscious and active power play that went pearshaped and the SLs were caught with their hands in the cookie jar. either way, some outside agencies are involved and all details are fully known to them, leaving the GoSL no option but to be in a very cooperative mood.

Elections here have overshadowed the events in SL so something may start to churn after the 25+ of may. It will probably be the first thing on the plates of the new MEA and the new Home minister. Something may surface then and find its way out into the SM or some leaked from some higher up whatsapp gossip groups.

I have been trawling twitter much more than usual so let's hope someone gets a lucky break.

I will look out for what you have suggested.
chetak
BRF Oldie
Posts: 32283
Joined: 16 May 2008 12:00

Re: Sri Lanka - News and Discussion

Post by chetak »

ramana wrote:The US envoy has lost the plot. The person has pointed fingers to India in order to curry favor with Pakistan to not upset the Taliban talks for US troop withdrawal.

If as I suspect Pak HC is fully involved in smuggling the C4 found, then this person has lost confidence to work in the area.
Would not be surprised if a new person is sent after decent interval as part of reshuffle.
C4 has a signature that identifies the plant that made it. Specific markers mixed in will show the batch number possibly. The SLs know for sure exactly how to handle C4 because that is exactly what the ltte used time and again. The amerikis would have helped them in the analysis and also the identification of the recovered C4 source.

It is also why the amerikis flew in the FBI so quickly to secure explosive evidence before it got contaminated. maybe the ISIS or other subgroups have many formulae for making TATP with minor variation in the recipe depending on the specific use which may help pinpoint the specific subgroup or even the actual ISIS or other bomb makers who trained the lankan gang to make the TATP that was finally used.

the drug running route from afpak, going through cashmere and punjab passes through TN and into SL and onwards to europe and points beyond. this was an old ltte channel now much refined by the pakis. the paki diplomatic staff in SL are the watch keepers and local facilitators.

That's why the ISI is so familiar with chennai. They run a very major business there and have connections with separatist tamils and politicians.

Colombo port moves enormous tonnage of bulk as well as container traffic mostly in transshipment. Until hambanthota comes up to approved spec, most of the drugs pass through this route.
chetak
BRF Oldie
Posts: 32283
Joined: 16 May 2008 12:00

Re: Sri Lanka - News and Discussion

Post by chetak »

arshyam wrote:The American ambassador's rather pointed statement, that too in public (Reuters) is interesting. The normal practice as far as I know is that any intel is shared with the host government and an advisory may be issued for own citizens. This allows the host government to focus on the intel and resolve the situation, while allowing them flexibility to follow their own communication strategy. Such a public statement on the other hand could only cause panic and potential distrust of the host government. We already have seen another public statement by a bishop or some similar high official of the SL Catholic church, saying not much has been done to resolve the threats.

Putting all this together, what is the Americans' game plan here?

Another thing to note are the multiple public acknowledgements of GoI's contribution, something rarely seen in western media.
this ameriki statement stuck out like a sore thumb right from day one.

It is not the kind or even type of statement that a diplomat makes publicly.

he was sending a very pointed message.
UlanBatori
BRF Oldie
Posts: 14045
Joined: 11 Aug 2016 06:14

Re: Sri Lanka - News and Discussion

Post by UlanBatori »

Sometimes I wonder if I am just too simplistic. Trying to imagine a bunch of yahoos sitting around plotting to all to inflate themselves, and trying to ascribe global geopolitical chankian-ness to them, is simply beyond me. Sri Lanka has traditionally had an alcohol problem surplus*. This keeps the majority very happy. These people OTOH drink Rooh Afza and "cordial", all filled with sugar. And eat Maasi sambol filled with red chillies. It makes them very angry all the time. Then someone finds a great chance to make a few waves and collect money for their terror enterprise by pulling off a "newsworthy" event. This model fits all the parameters and the ground realities. Ultimately it has to be explainable in terms of money, greed, sex, lust, hate or all of the above.

Same for the US Ambassadora's words. She just said: "Don't look at me, we had no clue this was going to happen, or yeah, we would have warned our own citizens". She's averting the blame game, because several US citizens were killed or wounded. As simple as that. WOULD they have warned all citizens? I doubt it: they would have to locate the diplo in charge of warning all citizens, and s(he) was probably lying drunk out on some beach - or lying with a cold towel on the head with a hangover. See "alcohol surplus" above.

* When my 6th coujin thrice removed was an infant, he was on the Boat Train/ Talaimannar-Colombo Mail when he was struck on the head with an arrack bottle carried by a not-so-steady-but-very-happy passenger. Totally accidental of course. But that may explain a lot of his behavior. Reading Mongolia-SL Strategic Relations into that would be a total waste of neurons. And alcohol.
Rudradev
BRF Oldie
Posts: 4226
Joined: 06 Apr 2003 12:31

Re: Sri Lanka - News and Discussion

Post by Rudradev »

ramana wrote:
What I find interesting is in India it is Kerala Muslim recruits who go to ISIS not the TN Muslims.
In SL its the Tamil convert Muslims who go to ISIS.
I think there is a clue in this puzzle as to why SL Govt turned a blind eye.
I think this has to do with socio-economic factors that facilitate the al-hijra to ISIS.

Where you have
1) Middle-class or wealthy Muslims (Gelf returnees in KL, Trader families in SL)
2) Larger numbers of Muslims concentrated together enabling extensive "green zones" locally free of un-Islamic influence
3) Because of 1 & 2, no local economic interdependency between Muslim and non-Muslim communities of a region (complete social and economic bubble forms)

There is more indoctrination with ISIS-vadi thought.

Think of it as an extension of Shiv's Oil Droplet model. When "oil droplets" are small and highly dispersed (after homogenizing/shaking the flask) you get a colloidal emulsion of many tiny droplets in the "aqueous medium". When enough "oil droplets" are present to locally aggregate/coalesce into larger liposomes, the required dynamics for militarization around trans-national Islamist causes can take root within the "oil" phase.

The other thing you get if the three conditions are satisfied, fortuitously, is a vote bank. If that vote bank can be cultivated INC-style to, for example, triangulate against a resurgence of secular Tamil irredentism, it becomes more valuable to the GoSL. Hence turning a blind eye. They were hoping that whatever evolved would be a pliable puppet and not anti-state.
A_Gupta
BRF Oldie
Posts: 12067
Joined: 23 Oct 2001 11:31
Contact:

Re: Sri Lanka - News and Discussion

Post by A_Gupta »

UlanBatori wrote: Same for the US Ambassadora's words. She just said: "Don't look at me, we had no clue this was going to happen, or yeah, we would have warned our own citizens".
That was understandable. But now she's added to that, saying that there are more terrorist plots brewing.
A_Gupta
BRF Oldie
Posts: 12067
Joined: 23 Oct 2001 11:31
Contact:

Re: Sri Lanka - News and Discussion

Post by A_Gupta »

DailyMirror of Sri Lanka reports:
Teaching at Madrasas - Deport the 800 foreign Islamic clerics: Patali
http://www.dailymirror.lk/breaking_news ... 108-166212
Megapolis and Western Development Minister Patali Champika Ranawaka yesterday called for the deporting of 800 foreign Islamic clerics who were engaged in religious teaching at various Madrasas.

He told Daily Mirror that these clerics had arrived on tourist visas, but were engaged in Islamic religious teaching.

“I urge the government to deport them immediately,” the minister said.
A_Gupta
BRF Oldie
Posts: 12067
Joined: 23 Oct 2001 11:31
Contact:

Re: Sri Lanka - News and Discussion

Post by A_Gupta »

Cardinal wants Britain to be vary of Islamic extremists
http://www.dailymirror.lk/breaking_news ... 108-166210
Referring to a statement made by a pro extremist Islamic Group in Britain that they would teach a lesson to all Sri Lankans, Archbishop of Colombo, Cardinal Malcolm Ranjith told a news conference today the British Government should be keep a close tab on these groups.

“We are not against Britain, Many Sri Lankans still respect the queen, and we appreciate all good things done by Britain in Sri Lanka. However, it should vary of extremist groups,” he said and pointed out that this Islamic group had intervened when some Sri Lankan Catholics staged a protest in London against the Easter Sunday attacks. The extremists are reported to have said that Sri Lankans should be taught a good lesson.

The Cardinal said the British government not forget that nine British citizens had died in the hotel bombings on Easter Sunday.
A_Gupta
BRF Oldie
Posts: 12067
Joined: 23 Oct 2001 11:31
Contact:

Re: Sri Lanka - News and Discussion

Post by A_Gupta »

Vital documents belonging to Thoweed Jama’at found
http://www.dailymirror.lk/breaking_news ... 108-166205
The Gampola Police today recovered video visuals and vital documents including the training of suicide bombers and the teaching of Hashan Zaharan the leader of the Thawheed Jama'at Organization from a shoe shop in which suicide bombers Mohamed Ibrahim Zahid Abdul Haq and Ibrahim Sadik Abdul Haq had hidden themselves.
A_Gupta
BRF Oldie
Posts: 12067
Joined: 23 Oct 2001 11:31
Contact:

Re: Sri Lanka - News and Discussion

Post by A_Gupta »

Bathiudeen’s coordinating secy arrested in Wedithalathivu
http://www.dailymirror.lk/breaking_news ... 108-166203
Four men including a coordinating secretary of Minister Rishad Bathiudeen were arrested by the Adampan police following the discovery of 10 detonators during a search in Wedithalathivu, Mannar on Monday.

47-year-old Mohamed Zanus believed to be on of the minister's coordinating secretaries, the Wedithalathivu Rural Bank Manager and two other businessmen were among those arrested. It was reported that the Mr. Zanus is also the Mantai West Co-operative society chairman.
A_Gupta
BRF Oldie
Posts: 12067
Joined: 23 Oct 2001 11:31
Contact:

Re: Sri Lanka - News and Discussion

Post by A_Gupta »

Governor Hizbullah’s driver, cook arrested
http://www.island.lk/index.php?page_cat ... tle=203492
Eastern Province Governor, M. L. A. M. Hizbullah’s driver and former cook were arrested, yesterday, following the detection of 48 rounds of ammunition in a building at Kattankudy.

The Police and Special Task Force officers had searched the building rented by the Governor, and detected the ammunition, a senior police officer of Kattankudy police said.

The driver and the former cook of Hizbullah were arrested as the keys to the building were in their custody.
A_Gupta
BRF Oldie
Posts: 12067
Joined: 23 Oct 2001 11:31
Contact:

Re: Sri Lanka - News and Discussion

Post by A_Gupta »

Finger-pointing politics.
Gotabaya supported NTJ - MP Thushara Indunil
https://dailynews.lk/2019/05/01/local/1 ... ra-indunil
Kurunegala District UNP MP Thushara Indunil said former Defence Secretary Gotabaya Rajapaksa had supported the setting up of the National Thowheed Jamath head office in Colombo for the extremist group.

He said Rajapaksa knew of this group and its extremist activities in 2014. “It was during the previous regime that M.L.A.M Hizbullah proposed the setting up of a university in Kattankudy for extremist ideologies.

This was signed and endorsed by the Youth Affairs Minister Dallas Allahapperuma on June 11,2013,” he said.

“The former Defence Secretary Gotabaya Rajapaksa helped strengthen the NTJ by devoting a plot of land in Colombo for the office of NTJ.”

“He tried to divide the peaceful community of Muslims into two. He knew that it would help him in his political endeavours which is why he strengthened one group against the other. Basil Rajapaksa said that there are 200 such mosques and the defence secretary assisted in setting them up,” he said. He added that it was incorrect to fault the intelligence services as they acted on information that had been passed on to them.

MP Indunil stressed that the All Ceylon Jamiyathul Ulema had repeatedly warned the previous government of this extremist group and their activities. “They informed the Defence Secretary as early as 2014 that this group was taking shape. It was during the previous regime that NTJ was nurtured. If the former Defence Secretary was privy to this information, we ask of what he did then, knowing the threats it posed.”
Singha
BRF Oldie
Posts: 66601
Joined: 13 Aug 2004 19:42
Location: the grasshopper lies heavy

Re: Sri Lanka - News and Discussion

Post by Singha »

sections of the SL political elites were in cahoots with the weapons buildup in hopes of using them as a stick under control.
plan went out of control when the colombo9 went feral and struck, leaving the GoSL no options but to respond .
the faction opposed to the towheed may have cynically let it happen to force the course of events, wont be the first time. there is some talk that churchill knew of pearl harbour plans but let it happen to draw the US into pacific war. some claim even potus or some of his spooks knew of it but let it happen

so many red flags pre 911 were ignored. perhaps again the hope was a controlled hit / strike in europe/asia but atta and co had bigger plans.

TOI reports today one of the 3 arrested in kerala by NIA was mentally prepared for a suicide attack but explosives had yet to be provided to him.
UlanBatori
BRF Oldie
Posts: 14045
Joined: 11 Aug 2016 06:14

Re: Sri Lanka - News and Discussion

Post by UlanBatori »

A_Gupta wrote:Vital documents belonging to Thoweed Jama’at found
http://www.dailymirror.lk/breaking_news ... 108-166205
The Gampola Police today recovered video visuals and vital documents including the training of suicide bombers and the teaching of Hashan Zaharan the leader of the Thawheed Jama'at Organization from a shoe shop in which suicide bombers Mohamed Ibrahim Zahid Abdul Haq and Ibrahim Sadik Abdul Haq had hidden themselves.
:eek: :shock: :eek:

Another one:
By Pushpakumara Jayaratne
The police yesterday arrested four individuals with 600 units of military fatigues found from two houses in Kurunegala, it is learnt.
Among the other items seized were four swords, two Kris knives, one air rifle, several accessories of a walkie-talkie and five rolls of fabric used in sewing military fatigues.
The police also found 21 fake rubber seals which they allege were meant to be used in preparing fraudulent documents for overseas travel. They suspect these items were arranged by Muslim fundamentalists for an impending attack.
Acting on a tip off, Kurunegala Division SP Mahinda Dissanayake launched the search operation at Theliyagonna in Kurunegala.
Reason for the :eek: is that these places are not Eastern or Southern: This is dead center central Sri lanka. Beautiful hill country of tea estates and cool weather. Fairly close to Kandy. This is *****NOT*** conflict country!!!
Last edited by UlanBatori on 01 May 2019 08:55, edited 1 time in total.
Singha
BRF Oldie
Posts: 66601
Joined: 13 Aug 2004 19:42
Location: the grasshopper lies heavy

Re: Sri Lanka - News and Discussion

Post by Singha »

the transformation of 29yo riyas aboobakr arrested by NIA
Image
Singha
BRF Oldie
Posts: 66601
Joined: 13 Aug 2004 19:42
Location: the grasshopper lies heavy

Re: Sri Lanka - News and Discussion

Post by Singha »

chetak
BRF Oldie
Posts: 32283
Joined: 16 May 2008 12:00

Re: Sri Lanka - News and Discussion

Post by chetak »

here is the drug smuggling connection

Sri Lanka blasts: NIA arrest of Kerala youth 'inspired' by NTJ chief raises no eyebrows as terrorist recruiters find fertile ground



Sri Lanka blasts: NIA arrest of Kerala youth 'inspired' by NTJ chief raises no eyebrows as terrorist recruiters find fertile ground

TK Devasia May 01, 2019

National Investigation Agency (NIA) raids at the homes of three people in Kerala following a Sri Lankan government statement that the mastermind behind the Easter blasts had links to south India have not raised any eyebrows in the state. For the past couple of decades, Malayali names have been cropping up with some regularity with regard to terror attacks. The Malayali connection to blasts outside the country started coming under the scanner of authorities after the 2015 Paris theatre attack which killed over 100.

A French anti-terror investigation agency grilled Thodupuzha resident Subahani Haja Moideen in December following an NIA revelation that he knew the ultras who carried out the attacks at the theatre in the French capital. Subahani, who was arrested from Tamil Nadu by the NIA in 2016 in connection with a plot targeting judges and tourists in the Kerala, is now lodged in Viyur Central Jail in Thrissur district. He pleaded ignorance about the Paris blast plot. The NIA raided the homes of two persons in Kasargod and one youth in Palakkad on Sunday after they were found following Zahran Hashim, who is believed to have masterminded the Lanka attacks, on social media networks.

Following the raids, the NIA sleuths have taken into custody Riyas Aboobacker from Kollangode in Palakkad and asked Ahammed Araft and Aboobacker Siddique from Kasargod to appear before the NIA office at Kochi. During the search, a number of digital devices including mobile phones, SIM cards, memory cards, pen drives, DVDs of preacher Zakir Naik and untitled DVDs, CDs with religious speeches, books of Naik and Syed Kutheb as well as diaries with handwritten notes in Arabic and Malayalam were seized, according to an NIA statement.

Even though the NIA could not establish any direct link between the three and the suspected Lankan blast mastermind, a leader of the Sri Lankan National Thowheed Jamath (NTJ), the NIA has found evidence linking them to the Tamil Nadu-based Thowheed Jamath, which denied any connection with the Sri Lankan outfit. However, the NIA is not ready to accept the denial given the Sri Lankan government's statement that Hashim spent a lot of time in south India. Moreover, the Islamic State circulated the video claiming responsibility for the blasts in Tamil and Malayalam languages in addition to Arabic and English.

State intelligence has also been collecting details of those associated with Thowheed following the Islamic State communique. They found 60 people from Vandiperiyar, Perumbavoor, Thrissur and Palakkad who allegedly attended meetings organised by Thowheed Jamath in 2016 in Madurai and Namakkal. The NIA is looking for the links of the three suspects from Kasargod and Palakkad with Islamic State sympathisers. An Indian Express report quoted NIA IG Alok Mittal as saying they suspected three persons of having links with 21 youths who left Kerala in July 2016 to join Islamic State. Curiously, 17 of them from Kasargod and four from Palakkad.

The report said one of the three was found to be in touch with Abdul Rashid Abdulla, a Kozhikode youth who joined the Islamic State in 2016. Rashid was found luring people to join Islamic State even after he left India. He attended a course on Islam in Sri Lanka before joining the jihadist outfit. The names of Aboobacker and Arafat were also mentioned by Shaibu Nihar of Koduvally in Kozhikode district after he was arrested from Kozhikode airport on his return from Qatar on 10 April in connection with a case related to facilitating the travel of some people to Syria. The two will be questioned on the basis of the information provided by Shaibu, who is in judicial custody.

The state police have taken the suspicion of Sri Lankan authorities over the links of the blasts accused with south India, especially the nexus between terrorism and international drug trade seriously since many of the people from the state who have joined the IS had either attended courses in Sri Lanka or gone via Colombo. Sri Lankan President Maithripala Sirisena had claimed that the suicide bomb attacks that rocked his country on the Easter Sunday were a reprisal for his hard campaign against drug trafficking, which, he says, is the main source of funding for terror groups.

Rising drug smuggling and its usage have been a big headache for the state. State Excise Commissioner Rishi Raj Singh said the state was becoming a hub for transporting drugs to national and international markets. He said his department seized drugs worth Rs 700 crore in the last two years. The radicalisation is viewed with surprise by Kerala watchers since the state has been one of India’s most diverse and its people the most educated. Though seeds of extremism were sowed in the state by cleric Abdul Nassar Madhani with the launch of a radical outfit called Islamic Sevak Sangh (ISS) as a counter to the RSS following the foundation stone laying of Ram temple at Ayodhya in 1989, terror raised its ugly head after the demolition of the Babri mosque.

The demolition led to the emergence of several organisations such as Al-Ummah, Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), National Development Front (NDF), Popular Front of India (PFI) and Social Democratic Party of India (SDPI), which made their presence felt through acts of violence. The first organised attack came five years to the day the Babri Masjid was demolished — 6 December, 1997 — when bombs ripped through a train compartment of the Chennai-Alappuzha Express train at Thrissur station. Though no such terror strike has taken place in the state since, many were found involved in blasts in Coimbatore, Bengaluru, Hyderabad and other cities. Many of them, including Madhani, are in jail in connection with these cases.

The Islamic State targeted members of these outfits mostly when they started recruiting people from India in their mission to reestablish an 'Islamic Caliphate' across the world. Islamic State recruiters operated mainly through religious centres, offering the dream of heaven. Kerala is a major hub for Islamic State recruitment. According to police, more than 100 people from the state have joined the outfit. Of these, 21 were from Kasaragod and 38 from Kannur. Since 2016, sixteen have been killed in raids by US and other forces fighting the Islamic State in various countries.
Anujan
Forum Moderator
Posts: 7807
Joined: 27 May 2007 03:55

Re: Sri Lanka - News and Discussion

Post by Anujan »

https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/ne ... 122777.cms

Sri Lanka mistook Indian alert as bid to create rift with Islamabad

New Delhi: Sri Lanka had refused to pay heed to India’s alert on possible suicide attacks and the involvement of extremists based on its belief that New Delhi is trying to pit Colombo against Pakistan by pointing fingers at the island's Muslim community.

Senior Lankan officials (defence secretary and police chief who have now been sacked) had claimed that India is trying to instigate Colombo against Islamabad by proposing counter-terror operations among the minority community
Now it makes sense why India went public
partha
BRF Oldie
Posts: 4483
Joined: 02 Jul 2010 15:25

Re: Sri Lanka - News and Discussion

Post by partha »

^
This after Sri Lankan cricket team was almost wiped out in Lahore. Also, having suffered from terrorism for almost three decades and tourism being the most important sector for the economy, Sri Lanka should be the last country to not take any kind of intel on terror seriously. What a sad state of affairs.
Hari Nair
BRFite
Posts: 338
Joined: 20 Aug 2010 17:37
Location: Bangalore

Re: Sri Lanka - News and Discussion

Post by Hari Nair »

Anujan wrote:https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/ne ... 122777.cms

Sri Lanka mistook Indian alert as bid to create rift with Islamabad

New Delhi: Sri Lanka had refused to pay heed to India’s alert on possible suicide attacks and the involvement of extremists based on its belief that New Delhi is trying to pit Colombo against Pakistan by pointing fingers at the island's Muslim community.

Senior Lankan officials (defence secretary and police chief who have now been sacked) had claimed that India is trying to instigate Colombo against Islamabad by proposing counter-terror operations among the minority community
Now it makes sense why India went public
Agree! These chaps have been supping with the Devil and appear to have brought this horror on themselves! I wonder if their President Sirisena had any part in initial steering of their thought process to disregard the warning and after being proven wrong (at a terrible cost), made scapegoats of the Defence Secretary and Police Chief?
chetak
BRF Oldie
Posts: 32283
Joined: 16 May 2008 12:00

Re: Sri Lanka - News and Discussion

Post by chetak »

It looks like the SL authorities not only made their own special and "secular" brand of koolaid but also drank it in copious quantities too.

It looks like the offshore lefties and the liberandu loonies and low IQ sold out academics and presstitutes have orchestrated the charade and have fooled the SLs into subscribing to their poisonous anti India and anti Hindu views.




How liberal campaign over ‘intolerance’ could have led to hundreds dying in Sri Lanka bombings. Will liberals pause and reflect?


How liberal campaign over ‘intolerance’ could have led to hundreds dying in Sri Lanka bombings
Will liberals pause and reflect?


Or is defaming Modi govt such a priority that they don’t care any more?



Sri Lanka didn’t listen. If only they had listened.


Image


Image


Image

Two obvious suspects emerge here. One is political correctness, a tendency to tiptoe around the ever-present threat of Islamic fundamentalism, downplaying the dangers, closing eyes and pretending that everything is fine.

The other is the vicious slander campaign in both domestic and global media about India being an “intolerant country” where the Muslim minority is persecuted. A simple Google search shows how The New York Times, for example, has been churning out scary headlines about India on an industrial scale.



Image


Such viciously unfair coverage about India in the world’s most influential “news” outlets is bound to have an impact. What started with desperate anti-Modi media in India possibly calling in favours with friends in the West might well be driving impressions about India among the general public everywhere. And perhaps more importantly, such media has its maximum impact in top diplomatic circles where policy is really decided.

Recently, I wrote about how big news channels in distant South America are being fed outright lies about India, such as projecting Sardar Patel as a “right-wing bigot” who liked to annex Muslim ruled states! This tells you the scale of the campaign launched to defame India.

Did this campaign have an impact on the minds of officials who ignored Indian intelligence inputs possibly on the assumption that “intolerant” India was trying to point fingers at their Muslim minority?

Does it help India’s image when Indian and global media suggest that India’s bid to punish Pakistan after the Pulwama terror attack was driven by some kind of anti-Muslim agenda?


Look at this article in Firstpost, which suggests that India’s military response to Pulwama attack had something do with “BJP’s anxiety” or with attitudes towards Indian Muslims:

Image


Image
Can you believe the stuff that is being written about India in supposedly ‘mainstream’ outlets? India’s strikes on terrorist camps in Balakot has something to do with “Muslims” being the symbolic enemy? What are they even talking about? Our Air Force strikes at a Jaish terrorist camp and you decide to treat it as an attack on Muslims in general?

Can The New York Times be far behind when it comes to connecting India’s military action against terrorist camps with some imaginary anti-Muslim agenda? See?



Image

Accusing Modi of making Pulwama the basis his campaign that is supposedly built around a “terrorism-Pakistan-Muslim” threat!

For at least two months now, the liberal media has been going to town telling everybody that India is a hateful country that is fighting not terrorism but innocent Muslims.

This fake propaganda might be having very real and very tragic consequences. Do you remember Sunday, Apr 21, when the blasts were still happening in Colombo and the body count was going up with every passing hour? Claims began to surface on social media, accompanied by some documents, suggesting that India had provided intelligence inputs about the possibility of Islamist terror attacks in Sri Lanka.

Do you remember what our liberals were doing on Apr 21? They were busy trying to “debunk” the obvious truth, trying to prove that it was not even an Islamist terror attack at all! One alleged fact checker, who co-founded a website that is much promoted by liberals in India and abroad, spent his entire day trying to prove that India provided no intelligence inputs and that it was not even an Islamist terror attack! Remember?

Hundreds of innocents have lost their lives in bombings in Sri Lanka. And the global slander campaign against India could have led Sri Lankan officials to view Indian intelligence reports with suspicion. Will liberals pause and reflect? Or is defaming Modi govt such a priority that they don’t care any more?


Abhishek Banerjee


chola
BRF Oldie
Posts: 5136
Joined: 16 Dec 2002 12:31
Location: USA

Re: Sri Lanka - News and Discussion

Post by chola »

A_Gupta wrote:DailyMirror of Sri Lanka reports:
Teaching at Madrasas - Deport the 800 foreign Islamic clerics: Patali
http://www.dailymirror.lk/breaking_news ... 108-166212
Megapolis and Western Development Minister Patali Champika Ranawaka yesterday called for the deporting of 800 foreign Islamic clerics who were engaged in religious teaching at various Madrasas.

He told Daily Mirror that these clerics had arrived on tourist visas, but were engaged in Islamic religious teaching.

“I urge the government to deport them immediately,” the minister said.
My god, 800 of them. Global cancer.
ricky_v
BRFite
Posts: 1144
Joined: 11 Aug 2016 06:14

Re: Sri Lanka - News and Discussion

Post by ricky_v »

The circle of people actually consuming msm copyrighted nonsense is shrinking in both the written and televised spaces. The credibility of foreign outlets reporting on india is high only amongst our intelligentsia, enlightened as they are after having internalized macualys seed and these such pieces are for their consumption and world view formation.
The foreigners on whose shores such falsehood emerge are themselves sceptical on the veracity of snake speech. Only our elite wring their hands and wail on twitter bemoaning the loss of nebulous concepts in the eyes of the others.
The presstitutes possessing dubious morals may peddle whatever PR they feel like, but in this age of communication, those in the know are aware of what exists on the ground, the common joe has other pressing needs to worry about like whether he is of the right gender, so for whom are the missives written?
Print media is a dying form and it's reach extends only in the minds of the publications; their only utility left is to be the seditious fifth column everywhere.
A_Gupta
BRF Oldie
Posts: 12067
Joined: 23 Oct 2001 11:31
Contact:

Re: Sri Lanka - News and Discussion

Post by A_Gupta »

Anujan wrote:https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/ne ... 122777.cms

Sri Lanka mistook Indian alert as bid to create rift with Islamabad

New Delhi: Sri Lanka had refused to pay heed to India’s alert on possible suicide attacks and the involvement of extremists based on its belief that New Delhi is trying to pit Colombo against Pakistan by pointing fingers at the island's Muslim community.

Senior Lankan officials (defence secretary and police chief who have now been sacked) had claimed that India is trying to instigate Colombo against Islamabad by proposing counter-terror operations among the minority community
Now it makes sense why India went public
But consider - did India, in its warning, at least what we know in public - point to anything Pakistani? They gave the organization, names of people and places likely to be attacked. Why would Sri Lanka officials automatically think "Islamabad'?
Why does "pointing fingers at the island's Muslim community" mean pitting Colombo against Islamabad? There seems to be the implicit understanding in these officials that all Islamic terrorism emanates from Pakistan and that the "island's Muslim community" are agents of Pakistan.
LakshmanPST
BRFite
Posts: 673
Joined: 05 Apr 2019 18:23

Re: Sri Lanka - News and Discussion

Post by LakshmanPST »

A_Gupta wrote:
Anujan wrote:https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/ne ... 122777.cms

Sri Lanka mistook Indian alert as bid to create rift with Islamabad




Now it makes sense why India went public
But consider - did India, in its warning, at least what we know in public - point to anything Pakistani? They gave the organization, names of people and places likely to be attacked. Why would Sri Lanka officials automatically think "Islamabad'?
Why does "pointing fingers at the island's Muslim community" mean pitting Colombo against Islamabad? There seems to be the implicit understanding in these officials that all Islamic terrorism emanates from Pakistan and that the "island's Muslim community" are agents of Pakistan.
I don't think they automatically considered "Islamabad"... My guess is, this terrorist attack actually had ISI connections... India would have specifically provided that info which Lankans didn't take it seriously...
ramana
Forum Moderator
Posts: 59773
Joined: 01 Jan 1970 05:30

Re: Sri Lanka - News and Discussion

Post by ramana »

Yes the bias was in SL executive minds that led to dismissing the warning. They made the connect Muslim = Pakistan
And mis read the situation.
But what to make of recovery of C4, detonators, and damage to Buddhist stature in January 2019 by NTJ members?

Why were these ignored?
Chetak and any one,

What is the origin of the C4 and the detonators recovered?
We see high explosives but not much firearms. Looks like bombing was the principal mode of attack for SL Muslims.
When they had so much C4 why use hazardous TATP?

Signature of which organization?

Dont mind lekin I think this goes back to 1993 Mumbai bombing were RDX was smuggled to set off simultaneous blasts.
And my spider sense says its the C4 based bakpakis and TATP is a cover story.
Cant set off such a hazardous materiel in six different places by just motivated jihadis.
The simultaneity, the lethality, the lack of previous experiments by this NTJ group means its some thing reliable and well tested design using fool proof materials.
And we saw recovery of C4, detonators, cables and ball bearings from the copper scrap factory.
UlanBatori
BRF Oldie
Posts: 14045
Joined: 11 Aug 2016 06:14

Re: Sri Lanka - News and Discussion

Post by UlanBatori »

Major TubeLight moment in SL, apparently. The swift and sharp (savage?) raids against One Community (of Peace) with 800 mullahs rounded up for deportation etc, show that they had the data all along, but as long as it was only anti-India/ anti-Hindu it was all right by all. That's what getting advice from EffBeeEye/ Emmeyesix can do for u. B4 9/11/2001, the Lashkar e Toiba used to openly raise funds for terror in US universities such as Ohio State and Colorado State, not to mention USC and Berkeleystan.

There is some Karma here...

So what made the Pakis biss into their own Rooh Afza by ordering these attacks?
ramana
Forum Moderator
Posts: 59773
Joined: 01 Jan 1970 05:30

Re: Sri Lanka - News and Discussion

Post by ramana »

UB it all goes to accountability in the intelligence operations.
Accountability depends on factors : responsibility of how the knowledge will be used operationally, substantive knowledge of the situation, executive judgment in receiving the intelligence and acting upon it.

For example a key board analyst like me would not know what would SL do with that information. It has to be someone in the SL security services who knows how the information is evaluated and turned into knowledge/intelligence for guiding the police force.
That alone is not enough. There has to be substantive knowledge of how this knowledge/intelligence will be used operationally by the police. For example a brain surgeon wont know the value of this intelligence. It has to be some one from the enforcement section of the police.
Even this is not enough. The executive has to weigh the intelligence with all other factors and give the go ahead or empower the folks.
I suspect that the last step was found wanting due to cognitive dissonance in the political leadership.
Ok won't/don't believe India warnings.
What about the SL police raid recovered intelligence and the NTJ track record?
Why were these not considered?

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2019_Sri_ ... r_bombings

If you read all the items mentioned, the bomber in Taj Samudra tried to set of the bomb three times around 8:47.
But no one molested the fellow and let him go off and he went to a guest house in Tropical Inn and set it off (maybe due to remorse for not joining the others in the IED) and killed two more people.
The Taj Samudra management should have rushed the fellow and informed the police to be on look out.
ramana
Forum Moderator
Posts: 59773
Joined: 01 Jan 1970 05:30

Re: Sri Lanka - News and Discussion

Post by ramana »

UlanBatori wrote:Major TubeLight moment in SL, apparently. The swift and sharp (savage?) raids against One Community (of Peace) with 800 mullahs rounded up for deportation etc, show that they had the data all along, but as long as it was only anti-India/ anti-Hindu it was all right by all. That's what getting advice from EffBeeEye/ Emmeyesix can do for u. B4 9/11/2001, the Lashkar e Toiba used to openly raise funds for terror in US universities such as Ohio State and Colorado State, not to mention USC and Berkeleystan.

There is some Karma here...

So what made the Pakis biss into their own Rooh Afza by ordering these attacks?
I think the SL area was being setup as a base for attacks on South India by TSP.

Balakot and the warnings that it will be end of TSP dissuaded them from the attacks in South India.
The frustrated jihadis had to be given a target to let off pent up jihad before they got exposed.
And the NZ attack came as convenient trigger.

Note how NZ is hurt that the excuse was the Mosque attack when it was planned earlier by seeing the scale and type of attack.
Rudradev
BRF Oldie
Posts: 4226
Joined: 06 Apr 2003 12:31

Re: Sri Lanka - News and Discussion

Post by Rudradev »

ramana wrote:...
Even this is not enough. The executive has to weigh the intelligence with all other factors and give the go ahead or empower the folks.
I suspect that the last step was found wanting due to cognitive dissonance in the political leadership.
Ok won't/don't believe India warnings.
What about the SL police raid recovered intelligence and the NTJ track record?
Why were these not considered?
....
Actually the khan Amby's statement "we did not provide any intel" starts to make a little more sense now.

What if (if not the Amby herself, then some of her staffers in "off-the-record" meetings) actually were giving GoSL indications in the other direction?

For example if GoSL security officials were meeting the attache-of-whatever for cocktails... mentioned the Indian intel and asked for corroboration... but were told instead, "oh, pay no attention, that's just Hindootva fundamentalist Modi trying to turn you against peace-lovin' Mzzlmz and Packeestan?"

Let's remember something. Much of the old State Dept is still intact and thinking exactly the way it used to (not) think. The rank-and-file babooze regard Orange-utan appointees like Tillerson or Pompeo with hostility as rank outsiders who need to be defied or undermined. Their default assumptions are exactly what Kissinger, Brezinski, Halfbright, Clinton, Kerry and others have left them stewing in for a generation.

Orange-utan for his own part has been lazy about revamping the personnel in the foreign policy establishment. He has a terribly limited attention span, arbitrary decision making style, and tendency to micromanage a few things while paying zero attention to many other things. He's appointed a few Ambys but many others remain in place from previous administrations, or else simply rise through institutional seniority to fill vacancies, especially ones to smaller "s---hole" countries like SL.

So the rank-and-file of khan foreign policy establishment remains exactly of the same mindset that "lost" Indian-supplied evidence in the 1993 bombing investigation, ignored Indian intel inputs as "motivated by hatred of Packeestan" when warned that IC814 was a dry-run for 9/11, regularly insisted that our intelligence agencies were both unprofessional and tainted by anti-Mzzlm bias, etc.

Added later: khan Amby to SL apparently was appointed in 2018, but previously was amby to Nepal. Maybe she just arrived in Colombo as a matter of institutional rotation rather than being handpicked. OTOH, if she was actually selected for the job by Orange-utan team, it's possible she herself was undermined and is trying to get things under control (claiming "no intel was supplied" is better than admitting wrong intel was supplied).
UlanBatori
BRF Oldie
Posts: 14045
Joined: 11 Aug 2016 06:14

Re: Sri Lanka - News and Discussion

Post by UlanBatori »

Taj Samudra ppl were just very lucky. Must have analyzed their CCTV recording after the fact as their H&D was dented at NOT being chosen for inflation, and were relieved to find that they were the original choice.
What does a soosai trying to inflate himself, look like on video? Like someone slapping at a mosquito on a strap hanging from his Bak-Pak? Not enough for a hotel to ask a guest to leave. Mosquitos are SL citizens too, and probably protected by more rights than humans are. The ShoeBomber, remember, was caught repeatedly trying to set fire to his shoes - not a very explicable fact - and even that was caught by a co-passenger who was looking for any excuse to lose a stinking neighbor.
saip
BRF Oldie
Posts: 4231
Joined: 17 Jan 2003 12:31
Location: USA

Re: Sri Lanka - News and Discussion

Post by saip »

Don't hotels in Sri Lanka inspect all baggage and hand bags? I remember in India most of the five star hotels did that.
A_Gupta
BRF Oldie
Posts: 12067
Joined: 23 Oct 2001 11:31
Contact:

Re: Sri Lanka - News and Discussion

Post by A_Gupta »

http://www.dailymirror.lk/breaking_news ... 108-166278
Swords may have been used to clear shrubs: Haleem
The caches of swords found from several mosques may have been used to clear shrubs surrounding those mosques, Muslim Religious Affairs Minister M. H. A. Haleem said.

Addressing a news briefing on Tuesday, he said it was reported that some mosques had swords hidden in them.

“We looked into it. Most of the mosques are surrounded by cemeteries with shrub jungles growing in them. They use various types of equipment to clear them and maybe they used these for that purpose,” he said when asked about swords which were found at mosques.
sanjaykumar
BRF Oldie
Posts: 6095
Joined: 16 Oct 2005 05:51

Re: Sri Lanka - News and Discussion

Post by sanjaykumar »

UlanBatori wrote:Major TubeLight moment in SL, apparently. The swift and sharp (savage?) raids against One Community (of Peace) with 800 mullahs rounded up for deportation etc, show that they had the data all along, but as long as it was only anti-India/ anti-Hindu it was all right by all. That's what getting advice from EffBeeEye/ Emmeyesix can do for u. B4 9/11/2001, the Lashkar e Toiba used to openly raise funds for terror in US universities such as Ohio State and Colorado State, not to mention USC and Berkeleystan.

There is some Karma here...

So what made the Pakis biss into their own Rooh Afza by ordering these attacks?

Sure but to have >250 people pay for this karmic lesson in taking India seriously is not even a cause of Freud ki shaadi. It just cannot be dismissed with 'serves them right'. I am just thankful that India made repeated and what may well have been frantic efforts to warn these SL clowns.
A_Gupta
BRF Oldie
Posts: 12067
Joined: 23 Oct 2001 11:31
Contact:

Re: Sri Lanka - News and Discussion

Post by A_Gupta »

http://www.island.lk/index.php?page_cat ... tle=203540
Sixty more suspects arrested with more incriminating material
(Lot of shrub clearing).
More than 60 persons were arrested yesterday along with a large number of weapons, the National Thowheed Jamath (NTJ) propaganda material and clothes similar to military uniform during search operations carried out by Police, STF and the tri-forces in several parts of the country, according to the Army and the Police.

The Kuliyapitiya Police detected a large volume of fabrics similar to saffron robes worn by Buddhist monks and several garments that resemble military uniform, yesterday, at an unauthorised mosque and a house in Yayawatta, Kuliyapitiya. The Police carried out the raid with the assistance of the Army. Police arrested the head of the mosque and a female suspect.

Police also arrested 14 suspects including the chairman of the Wellawa branch of National Thowheed Jamath during a search operation at Hadirawalana, Wellawa. Over 200 security force personnel took part in the raid and they took into custody six swords, four daggers, 15 DVDs containing NTJ propaganda and 20 NTJ banners.

The Horowpathana Police have taken into custody a number of suspicious items from an Arabic School run by a suspect who was arrested in the same police area, on Monday.

The suspect is believed to have been a close associate of extremist Zahran Hashmi, the mastermind of Easter Sunday suicide bombers. Following interrogation, Horowpathana Police, along with the personnel from the Kebithigollewa STF camp and army intelligence, raided an Arabic school, where the suspect was a Director. Among the items confiscated are letters that he has exchanged with the National Thowheed Jamath (NTJ).

The Kalpitiya Police arrested 31 suspects who were unable to reveal their identities and several suspicious vehicles yesterday morning in Mandalkuda, Kalpitiya. They were apprehended during a combined raid carried out by Police, Navy and the Air Force.

Out of those arrested ten are from Mannar. The vehicles taken into custody are registered in Western and Eastern Provinces.

The Pindeniya Police arrested three suspects who were in possession of hi-tech equipment at Kotiyakumbura. The arrests were made in a building owned by a businessman. Police also detected a high grade GPS receiver, mobile phones, cameras, petrol bombs, swords, knives, barbed wire, walkie -talkies and a number of passports. They were to be produced in courts and remanded.

Five persons were arrested at Kebethigollewa, on Tuesday, for possessing video recordings of the Easter Sunday bombings, photographs of Zahran Hashmi and photos and videos of the Wanathavilluwa jihadist training camp. They were arrested during a combined search operation conducted by the Police and the army. The five men are residents of Vavuniya, KKS and Kinniya, who were working in Kebethigollewa. Among those arrested are two men who were taking video footage of a security post in Hijragama along the Horowpathana road. The five men were to be produced before the Kebethigollewa Magistrate’s court, yesterday.

Soldiers attached to the army’s 11 division arrested 12 persons in Akurana along with swords and other military equipment. Three swords, parts of firearms, clothing that resemble military uniforms, posters, banners and CDs that contain NTJ propaganda, forged passports, NICs and birth certificates were taken into custody. The operation lasted for more than three hours.
Post Reply