The strange lives of Sri Lanka’s Easter Sunday suicide bombers
- Some were from wealthy backgrounds, while others received favourable treatment and payments from the government for their business
- But they all had one thing in common – according to associates, they had the ‘necessary mindset’ to carry out the deadly atrocities
The copper factory belonging to one of them, 33-year-old Illham Ibrahim, had received favourable treatment from the state, it has now been revealed.
When Sri Lanka Telecom wanted to dispose of copper cables, the tender was given to the suicide bomber’s operation, according to Ranjith Vithanage, president of the country’s Consumer Rights Protection Association.
The copper merchant has been pictured, alongside his spice tycoon father, receiving awards at a state-sponsored ceremony for entrepreneurs. Both Colombo merchants are reported to have been liaising closely with the alleged mastermind of the attack – Zaran Hashim, a known troublemaker from the country’s Eastern province.
He was a strange child, who broke away from the teachings of his original Islamic school to indoctrinate others, according to reports.
