On 26 April 2019, Sri Lankan security forces and

National Thowheeth Jama'ath , country = Sri Lanka , leader = Moulvi Mohamed Cassim Mohamed Zahran , foundation = , dates = – , dissolved = , merger = , split = , predecessor = , merged ...

militants linked to the

Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant An Islamic state is a state that has a form of government based on Islamic law (sharia). As a term, it has been used to describe various historical polities and theories of governance in the Islamic world. As a translation of the Arabic term ...

clashed when the security forces raided a house in the town of

Sainthamaruthu Sainthamaruthu ( ta, சாய்ந்தமருது, translit=Cāyntamarutu; si, සායින්දමරුදු, translit=Sāyindamarudu) is a coastal town in Sri Lanka, with a population of 25,412. It is located on the east coast of ...

Ampara District Ampara District ( ta, அம்பாறை மாவட்டம், translit=Ampāṟai Māvaṭṭam; si, අම්පාර දිස්ත්‍රික්කය, translit=Ampāra Distrikkaya) is one of the 25 districts of Sri Lanka, the sec ...

at around 7:30 pm. The house had been used by the militants to manufacture explosives and

suicide vest Suicide is the act of intentionally causing one's own death. Mental disorders (including depression, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, personality disorders, anxiety disorders), physical disorders (such as chronic fatigue syndrome), and subs ...

s. Three

suicide bomber A suicide attack is any violent attack, usually entailing the attacker detonating an explosive, where the attacker has accepted their own death as a direct result of the attacking method used. Suicide attacks have occurred throughout history ...

s blew themselves up, killing nine of their family members, including six children, while four other suspects where shot dead by the soldiers. A civilian was killed and two others were injured during the crossfire.

Background

Following the

2019 Sri Lanka Easter bombings On 21 April 2019, Easter Sunday, three churches in Sri Lanka and three luxury hotels in the commercial capital, Colombo, were targeted in a series of coordinated ISIS-related terrorist suicide bombings. Later that day, there were smaller explo ...

, the

Sri Lankan government The Government of Sri Lanka (GoSL) ( si, ශ්‍රී ලංකා රජය, Śrī Lankā Rajaya; ta, இலங்கை அரசாங்கம்) is a parliamentary system determined by the Sri Lankan Constitution. It administers the is ...

initiated an operation to locate suspected ISIL-loyal National Thowheeth Jama'ath terrorists.

Special Task Force Special Task Force may refer to: * Special Task Force (SAPS), a South African Counter-Terrorist force * Special Task Force (Sri Lanka), Sri Lankan Police Counter-Terrorist force * Special Task Force (India) In India, a Special Task Force (STF) i ...

received a tip from a traffic police officer about a house in

with a group of suspicious people. The

went onto raid the house under suspicion. The ISIL-aligned

Amaq News Agency Amaq News Agency ( ar, وكالة أعماق الإخبارية) is a news outlet linked to the Islamic State (IS). Amaq publishes news reports about claims of responsibility for terrorist attacks in Western countries. It is often the "first poi ...

later claimed that the National Thowheeth Jama'ath militants of Sainthamaruthu had prepared an ambush at the house, and had voluntarily lured the security forces into attacking them.

Attacks

When the

tried to enter the house shots were fired from inside. The security forces exchanged fire with those inside the house for about an hour. Three suicide bombers blew themselves up killing 9 people, while police confirmed three other suspects were killed in the engagement. Three women and six children were killed in the suicide bombings by the terrorists. A civilian was killed in crossfire. Those killed in the raid were identified as Zahran Hashim's father Mohamed Hashim and his brothers Zainee and Rilwan, with Rilwan being one of the suicide bombers. The Amaq News Agency released a statement claiming that the militants at Sainthamaruthu had been loyal to ISIL, and that they had managed to kill 17 Sri Lankan security forces. It also published a photo of Zahran alongside his brother Rilwan. The family released a final video message before being killed, which suggested that they had indeed been linked to ISIL.

Aftermath

Fifteen bodies were initially recovered from the site of the clash. Security troops also recovered explosives, detonators,

gelignite Gelignite (), also known as blasting gelatin or simply "jelly", is an explosive material consisting of collodion-cotton (a type of nitrocellulose or guncotton) dissolved in either nitroglycerine or nitroglycol and mixed with wood pulp and saltp ...

sticks, acid bottles, detonating cords, ISIL flags, suicide kits, and military uniforms. A woman and a child injured at a nearby house during the explosions were taken to the hospital and received police custody, suspected to be the wife and daughter of Zahran. A curfew was imposed in the area till further notice. The bodies of 10 adults were buried without religious

rite Rite may refer to: * Ritual, an established ceremonious act * Rite of passage, a ceremonious act associated with social transition Religion * Rite (Christianity), a sacred ritual or liturgical tradition in various Christian denominations * Catho ...

s on 2 May but the 6 children were buried with

Islamic funeral Funerals and funeral prayers in Islam ( ar, جنازة, Janazah) follow fairly specific rites, though they are subject to regional interpretation and variation in custom. In all cases, however, sharia (Islamic religious law) calls for burial ...

rites. However, the bodies were exhumed on June to collect DNA samples as the previous samples were too contaminated. The Sri Lankan Police awarded රු.500,000 ($) to the police officer who tipped off the

about the safe house in Sainthamaruthu. Three Muslim citizens in the area who tipped off the police about the suspects will be given රු.1 million ($) each.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sainthamaruthu shootout Shootout 2019 Sri Lanka Easter bombings 2019 murders in Sri Lanka 21st-century mass murder in Sri Lanka April 2019 crimes in Asia Attacks on buildings and structures in Sri Lanka Crime in Eastern Province, Sri Lanka History of Ampara District Islamic terrorism in Sri Lanka Islamic terrorist incidents in 2019 Mass murder in 2019 Military operations involving Sri Lanka Terrorist incidents in Sri Lanka in 2019 Suicide bombings in 2019 Suicide bombings in Sri Lanka Family murders Murder–suicides in Asia Attacks on buildings and structures in 2019