Mr. Zaharan remained at large, and is believed to have traveled freely in and out of the country. He fell on the radar of Indian intelligence agents who, in the weeks leading up to the attack, repeatedly told their Sri Lankan counterparts their concern that Mr. Zaharan was plotting violence. Some officials believe the Americans also had information on Mr. Zaharan, which they likely conveyed to the government. Ten days before the bombings, a top Sri Lankan police official sent a detailed memo warning the security services that Mr. Zaharan’s little known militant group, National Thowheeth Jama’ath, was planning suicide attacks against churches. In the hours after the attack, President Sirisena and Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe each said they were unaware of the warnings and blamed others for their ignorance.

Source: International New York Times April 26, 2019 22:07 UTC