On 26 April 2019, Sri Lankan security forces and National Thowheeth Jama'ath militants linked to the

Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant The Islamic State (IS), also known as the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) and Daesh, is a transnational Salafi jihadist organization and unrecognized quasi-state. IS occupied signi ...

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

Sainthamaruthu Sainthamaruthu (; ) is a coastal town in Sri Lanka, with a population of 25,412. It is located on the east coast of Ampara District of Eastern Province, Sri Lanka. Sri Lankan Muslims are the majority population, according to the Department of Cen ...

Ampara District Ampara District (; ) is one of the 25 Districts of Sri Lanka, districts of Sri Lanka, the second-level administrative divisions of the country. The district is administered by a District Secretariat headed by a Government Agent (Sri Lanka), Distric ...

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. Risk factors for suicide include mental disorders, physical disorders, and substance abuse. Some suicides are impulsive acts driven by stress (such as from financial or ac ...

s. Three

suicide bomber A suicide attack (also known by a wide variety of other names, see below) is a deliberate attack in which the perpetrators knowingly sacrifice their own lives as part of the attack. These attacks are a form of murder–suicide that is ofte ...

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 Terrorism, terrorist suicide bombings. Later that day, two smaller ...

, the

Sri Lankan government The Government of Sri Lanka (GoSL) (; ) is a Semi-presidential republic determined by the Sri Lankan Constitution. It administers the island from both its commercial capital of Colombo and the administrative capital of Sri Jayawardenepura Kott ...

initiated an operation to locate suspected ISIL-loyal National Thowheeth Jama'ath terrorists. Special Task Force received a tip from a traffic police officer about a house in

with a group of suspicious people. The Special Task Force went onto raid the house under suspicion. The ISIL-aligned

Amaq News Agency Amaq News Agency () is a news outlet linked to the Islamic State (IS). Amaq is often the "first point of publication for claims of responsibility" for terrorist attacks in Western countries by the Islamic State. In March 2019, Amaq News Agency w ...

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 Special Task Force 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 Potassi ...

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: Religion * Ritual, an established ceremonious act * Rite (Christianity), sacred rituals in the Christian religion * Ritual family, Christian liturgical traditions; often also called ''liturgical rites'' * Catholic particular ch ...

s on 2 May but the 6 children were buried with

Islamic funeral Islamic funerals () 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 of the body as soon as possible. The deceased is ...

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 Special Task Force about the safe house in Sainthamaruthu. Three

Muslim Muslims () are people who adhere to Islam, a Monotheism, monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God ...

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

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sainthamaruthu shootout Shootouts 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