Security Officials Were ‘Stunned’ by the Sophistication of the Sri Lanka Attack
Foreign intelligence agents say the bombers were capable of the attack without outside help
When a series of closely timed suicide bombings tore through three luxury hotels and three churches Sunday morning, killing some 250 people and wounding hundreds more, analysts and officials weren’t just taken aback by the sheer brutality of the attack — they were also shocked at how effectively it was carried out.
“The technical side stunned me,” said a Belgian counterterrorism official who spoke on the condition of anonymity. “Few amateurs can build these devices safely and get them to work without anyone noticing. We can usually intercept them.”
The Sri Lankan government was quick to suggest the bombers were part of National Thowheeth Jama’ath, a national jihadist group. It also speculated that, given the technicality of the attacks, the bombers had received outside support. ISIS quickly took responsibility for the attacks, but there’s reason to be skeptical of the terror group’s claims. Then, on Wednesday, it was revealed that the group of attackers included the two sons and a daughter-in-law of Mohammed Ibrahim, a businessman and political figure well-known among Colombo’s elite. Intelligence officials…
