Report: Sri Lanka Attack ‘Mastermind’ ‘Moulvi Zahran Hashim’ Hit Shangri La Hotel

SRI LANKA. (THECOUNT) — Reports have identified the suicide bomber and “mastermind” behind the attack on the Shangri La hotel as Islamic extremist Moulvi Zahran Hashim. An imam, he was a prolific lecturer for National Thowheed Jamath.

CNN reported that Hashim also wanted to attack the Indian High Commission in Colombo earlier this month, but the attack was thwarted. According to the CNN report, that attack was planned for April 4.

CNN also noted that at least two suicide bombers were responsible for some of the attacks that took place on Easter Sunday, reports JPost.

As Hashim’s name began disseminating on social media, journalists on the left, like Al Jazeera journalist Saif Khalid, pushed back against the reports, accusing the press of being “Islamophobic” for reporting his name.

TheCount.com has not independently confirmed Hashim’s involvement in the attack.

Celebrity TV chef Shantha Mayadunne and her daughter died in the Easter bombings in Sri Lanka, said her relatives on April 21.

Mayadunne was famous on the island nation because of her cookbooks, a TV show, and culinary school.

She and her daughter, Nisanga, were staying at the Shangri-La hotel in Colombo, reported the Evening Standard. It was one of four hotels targeted in the attacks, reports TheEpochTimes.

Friend Radha Fonseco told the Gulf News: “Nilanga was a very popular girl in college. Besides the fact that she was bright and smart, her mother Shantha Mayadunne, a renowned chef, made her more popular in college. She (the mother) was well respected and an inspirational chef for Sri Lankans.”

Hours before the bombings that left more than 200 dead, Nisanga posted a photo with her relatives on Facebook, saying, “Easter breakfast with family.”

About 35 tourists, which include Americans, British, and Dutch nationals are believed to be among those killed in the blasts, according to reports.

Eye-witnesses say buildings in the surrounding area shook with force of the blast and 50 people so far have reportedly been taken to Colombo’s main hospital.

A second explosion hit St Sebastian’s Church in Negombo, north of Colombo, report SkyNews.

Sky News’ Asia correspondent Tom Cheshire said: “It suggests a coordinated, targeted attack on Christians. It is very unusual for Sri Lanka.

“It’s very, very worrying as people are trying to celebrate Easter.”

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Geo quick facts: Sri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, is an island country in South Asia, located in the Indian Ocean to the southwest of the Bay of Bengal and to the southeast of the Arabian Sea – Wikipedia.