Before this attack, Mr. Zaharan was a not-so-successful Islamist preacher whose own village in eastern Sri Lanka ran him out because they did not appreciate his divisive views. He spread militant Islamist ideology on YouTube and, according to Indian investigators, helped inspire at least one Indian to draw closer to the Islamic State. Some Muslim leaders in Sri Lanka had been watching him closely and said he had developed a small but loyal band of followers. He said they had found no evidence to suggest that the bombers had traveled to the Middle East to fight for the Islamic State. Still in recovery from a bitter civil war that ended a decade ago, Sri Lanka remains uneasy.

Source: New York Times April 24, 2019 22:18 UTC