Wanted leader behind Sri Lankan blasts died in hotel attack: President

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Wanted leader behind Sri Lankan blasts died in hotel attack: President

Hashim appeared in a video released by Daesh after they claimed the bombings.

By AFP

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Published: Fri 26 Apr 2019, 9:07 AM

Last updated: Sat 27 Apr 2019, 12:49 AM

An extremist leader at the heart of Sri Lanka's Easter suicide bombings died in the attacks, the country's president said on Friday as security forces guarded mosques for weekly prayers amid fears of reprisal strikes.
While security forces stepped up a hunt for followers of the Daesh group, Sri Lanka's police chief resigned over the intelligence failures exposed by the attacks on three churches and three hotels which left 253 dead. President Maithripala Sirisena told reporters that Zahran Hashim, head of a local militant group, was one of two attackers killed at one of the Colombo luxury hotels hit on Sunday.
Sri Lanka reveals details of 'educated, well-off' terrorists; one was a woman
"What intelligence agencies have told me is that Zahran was killed during the Shangri-La attack," he said. Hashim was accompanied by a second bomber identified as Ilham Ibrahim in the attack, the president said.
Authorities had been desperately searching for for Hashim after naming his group, National Thowheeth Jama'ath, as perpetrators of the attack.
Death toll lowered to 253, Sri Lanka braces for more attacks
DNA tests on a severed head found in the hotel turned out to be from Hashim, officials said.
Hashim, who founded the NTJ, appeared in a video released by the Daesh group when it claimed the strikes. He is seen leading seven others in a pledge of allegiance to the Daesh chief.


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