Overview

Ahamed Milhan Hayathu Moahmed is a member of a group of ISIS supporters who call themselves ISIS in Sri Lanka. According to the U.S. Department of Justice, the group is responsible for planning and carrying out the April 2019 Easter attacks across Sri Lanka which killed 267 people and injured 500 others.“Three Foreign Nationals Charged with Conspiring to Provide Material Support to ISIS,” U.S. Department of Justice, January 8, 2021, https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/three-foreign-nationals-charged-conspiring-provide-material-support-isis. Moahmed was reportedly arrested in an unspecified Middle Eastern country in June 2019 and was extradited to Sri Lanka following his arrest.“Red Notice leads to arrest of Sri Lanka bombings suspect,” Interpol, April 14, 2019, https://www.interpol.int/en/News-and-Events/News/2019/Red-Notice-leads-to-arrest-of-Sri-Lanka-bombings-suspect. On November 23, 2021, Moahmed and 24 other defendants stood trial for their connection to the attacks.Uditha Jayasinghe, “Sri Lanka begins trial of 25 accused of plotting 2019 Easter bombings,” Reuters, November 23, 2021, https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/sri-lanka-begins-trial-25-accused-plotting-2019-easter-bombings-2021-11-23.

On April 21, 2019, suicide bombers launched a coordinated series of attacks on three Catholic churches in Colombo, Negombo, and Batticaloa, as well as three luxury hotels in Colombo.“Sri Lanka Attacks: What We Know and Don’t Know,” New York Times, April 24, 2019, https://www.nytimes.com/2019/04/24/world/asia/sri-lanka-easter-bombing-attacks.html. The attacks killed 267 people and wounded 500 others. Most of the victims were from Sri Lanka’s minority Christian community. That evening, an improvised explosive device was defused near Colombo’s Bandaranaike International Airport. Police found 87 detonators in a private terminal of the main bus station in Colombo, and a controlled explosion was carried out on a van near the Roman Catholic St. Anthony’s church also in Colombo.Jenni Marsh, Julia Hollingsworth, Bianca Britton and Barbara Starr, “Sri Lanka fears international terror link to Easter Sunday atrocities,” CNN, April 23, 2019, https://edition.cnn.com/2019/04/22/asia/sri-lanka-investigation-easter-attacks/index.html. Along with countless Sri Lankans, the victims included more than a dozen foreign nationals from the United States, Australia, the United Kingdom, China, the Netherlands, India, Portugal, Japan, and Turkey.“Sri Lanka Attacks: What We Know and Don’t Know,” New York Times, April 24, 2019, https://www.nytimes.com/2019/04/24/world/asia/sri-lanka-easter-bombing-attacks.html.

Shortly after the attacks, the Sri Lankan government admitted that it had not responded to warnings from U.S. and Indian intelligence agencies about a possible attack.Iqbal Athas and Helen Regan, “Sri Lanka Easter bombings investigation calls for former President to be prosecuted,” CNN, February 24, 2021, https://www.cnn.com/2021/02/24/asia/sri-lanka-easter-attack-report-sirisena-intl-hnk/index.html; Morgan Winsor and Dragana Jovanovic, “ISIS claims responsibility for Sri Lanka Easter bombings that killed over 350,” ABC News, April 23, 2019, https://abcnews.go.com/International/isis-claims-responsibility-sri-lanka-easter-bombings-killed/story?id=62570339; “Sri Lanka attacks: 23,000 charges filed against suspects as trial begins,” BBC News, November 24, 2021, https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-59397642. The alleged ringleader of the attack, Zahran Hashim was a radical Islamist preacher, who was known to the authorities and the local Muslim community. Hashim—who believed that he was following in the footsteps of Tamim Ahmed Chowdhury, the Emir of ISIS in Bangladesh—killed himself after detonating an explosive at the Shangri-La hotel in Colombo. Chowdhury, a Bangladeshi Canadian allegedly masterminded the July 2015 Dhaka attack at the Gulchand Café which killed 29 people. According to media sources, weeks before the attack, India's intelligence service warned Sri Lanka authorities that Zahran was planning an attack on churches and hotels.Iqbal Athas and Helen Regan, “Sri Lanka Easter bombings investigation calls for former President to be prosecuted,” CNN, February 24, 2021, https://www.cnn.com/2021/02/24/asia/sri-lanka-easter-attack-report-sirisena-intl-hnk/index.html.

On April 23, ISIS claimed responsibility for the attacks, releasing a video of suspects pledging allegiance to ISIS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi.Deborah Haynes, “Wealthy and well-educated: The bombers behind the Sri Lanka attacks,” Sky News, May 1, 2019, https://news.sky.com/story/wealthy-and-well-educated-the-bombers-behind-the-sri-lanka-attacks-11708206. ISIS also released a statement claiming the attackers were “among the fighters of the Islamic State.” According to media sources, multiple U.S. sources briefed on the investigation believed ISIS was involved in the Sri Lanka attacks in a supportive capacity but were uncertain to what degree.Morgan Winsor and Dragana Jovanovic, “ISIS claims responsibility for Sri Lanka Easter bombings that killed over 350,” ABC News, April 23, 2019, https://abcnews.go.com/International/isis-claims-responsibility-sri-lanka-easter-bombings-killed/story?id=62570339.

Moahmed was arrested in the Middle East sometime in June 2019, and on June 19 was extradited to Sri Lanka following his arrest.“Red Notice leads to arrest of Sri Lanka bombings suspect,” Interpol, April 14, 2019, https://www.interpol.int/en/News-and-Events/News/2019/Red-Notice-leads-to-arrest-of-Sri-Lanka-bombings-suspect. On January 8, 2021, the U.S. Department of Justice announced that Moahmed, along with Mohammad Naufer and Mohamed Anwar Mohamed Riskan were charged with terrorism offenses, including conspiring to provide material support to ISIS. According to the Justice Department, the men were part of a group of ISIS supporters which called itself “ISIS in Sri Lanka” who were responsible for the 2019 Easter attacks. Moahmed allegedly executed a police officer to steal their firearms, shot a suspected informant, and scouted a location for a separate terrorist attack. Furthermore, the three men allegedly conspired to provide, provided, and attempted to provide material support through services and personnel to ISIS. The men stand accused of serving as ISIS supporters in Sri Lanka seeking to plan and encourage violent attacks to advance ISIS’s goals, obtaining explosives and materials for IEDs, and recruiting other individuals to join ISIS.“Three Foreign Nationals Charged with Conspiring to Provide Material Support to ISIS,” U.S. Department of Justice, January 8, 2021, https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/three-foreign-nationals-charged-conspiring-provide-material-support-isis.

On November 23, 2021, Moahmed and 24 other men accused of masterminding the 2019 Easter bombings began their trial in Sri Lanka. More than 23,000 charges have been filed against the suspects, and 1,215 witnesses have been called to testify. Among the charges were conspiring to murder, aiding, and abetting the attacks, and collecting arms and ammunition. According to the defendants lawyers, the trial is expected to last for years given the large number of charges and witnesses. While all of the suicide bombers who carried out the attacks were killed in the explosions, their associates and relatives stand accused of being involved in planning and masterminding the terrorist attacks.“Sri Lanka attacks: 23,000 charges filed against suspects as trial begins,” BBC News, November 24, 2021, https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-59397642. The trial remains ongoing.