Zahran Hashim

Mohamed Hashim Mohamed Zahran (සහ්රාන් හාෂිම්; 1985 – 21 April 2019), known as Zahran Hashim or Hashem, was a Sri Lankan Islamist militant and the founder of the National Thowheeth Jama'ath (NTJ). He was identified by Sri Lankan authorities as well as international intelligence bodies as the mastermind behind the 2019 Sri Lanka Easter bombings, a series of coordinated suicide attacks on churches and hotels that killed 269 people and injured approximately 500. He was one of the two suicide bombers in the Shangri-La Hotel, one of the attack's target.

Early life and education Mohamed Hashim Mohamed Zahran

Radical preaching Hashim joined the Dharul Athar mosque in 2006, and was on its management committee for three years before they had a disagreement. The committee banned him from preaching for three months in 2009. He began releasing online videos preaching radical Islam, calling for jihad and threatening bloodshed.

2019 Easter bombings and death

Hashim led a local militant group that pledged allegiance to the Islamic State (ISIS). On 21 April 2019, the group carried out coordinated suicide bombings on churches and hotels on Easter Sunday, with Hashim named as the primary planner of the attacks. and more than 500 were injured. Three days after the bombings, Amaq News Agency, the propaganda arm of ISIS released a video in which Hashim appeared alongside the other attackers, pledging allegiance to the Islamic State’s leader, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi. Hashim, whose face was uncovered, led the oath while the others stood behind him. During the video, Hashim claimed that the attacks were carried out in revenge for the Christchurch mosque shootings.

On the same day, during a security forces raid on a safe house in the Colombo suburb of Dematagoda, His several associates detonated suicide vests, killing themselves. His identity was later confirmed through DNA testing.

Personal life Aged 23, Hashim married a 14-year-old girl from a small town near Colombo took her to his home town of Kattankudy. They had a daughter.

His sister, Mohamed Hashim Mathaniya, was involved in assisting law enforcement after the bombing.