National Thowheed Jamaat not responsible for Sri Lanka blasts
K Pragalath & Hema Subramaniam
PUCHONG: In a phone conversation with The Leaders Online, Governor of The Eastern Province, Government of Sri Lanka Mahamood Lebbe Alim Mohamed Hizbullah has dismissed allegations that National Thowheed Jamaat was responsible for the multiple bomb blast today.
“Some people claim it is Thowheed Jamaat. We are investigating. We are consistently investigating but there are no evidence against any party, any community or any group. They are innocent but we are sure we can identify them (the perpetrators),” said Hizbullah to The Leaders Online
In a phone conversation with The Leaders Online,
Governor of The Eastern Province, Government of Sri Lanka Mahamood Lebbe Alim Mohamed Hizbullah
Earlier today, Brahma Chellaney, an analyst with Centre for Policy Research in New Delhi blamed little known Muslim group, National Thowheed Jamaat on Twitter for the bomb blasts that claimed the lives of 138 and wounding 400 on Easter Day in Sri Lanka.
“The terrorist bombings in Sri Lanka have put the spotlight on an Islamist group, Thowheed Jama’ath, which includes Syria-jihad returnees. Foreign intelligence had warned Sri Lanka that Thowheed Jama’ath planned to bomb prominent churches and the Indian High Commission (Embassy).”
According to a document accessed by AFP, the Sri Lankan police chief had warned of possible suicide attacks targeting “prominent churches” in a nationwide alert 10 days ago, Pakistan’s English daily, The Dawn reported.
Police chief Pujuth Jayasundara sent an intelligence warning to top officers on April 11 setting out the threat.
“A foreign intelligence agency has reported that the National Thowheed Jama’ath (NTJ) is planning to carry out suicide attacks targeting prominent churches as well as the Indian High Commission in Colombo,” said the alert.
The NTJ came to notice last year when it was linked to the vandalisation of Buddhist statues.
There has been a trend of growing Islamophobia whenever deadly attacks take place.
Earlier today a series of seven bomb blasts near churches and hotels left 140 dead and hundreds more injured.
