National Towheeth Jamaath, the group suspected to be behind Sri Lanka blasts: All you need to know

Follow Sri Lanka bomb blasts LIVE Updates Till now, about 24 persons have been arrested in connection with the eight bombs blasts that left nearly 500 people injured. The National Towheeth Jamaath, which preaches a puritanical form of Islam, was formed in Kattankudy, a Muslim-dominated town in eastern Sri Lanka, in 2014. The group has been pushing for Sharia law in the region and wants women to dress only in burqas. Clear that international elements are involved, says Sri Lankan official While the outfit has no history of mass fatality attacks, it is known for racism and Islamic superiority. It shot into the limelight last year when it was linked to the vandalism of Buddhist statues. It's activities had led to tension between Buddhists (who dominate Sri Lanka), and Muslims. In 2017, members of the National Towheeth Jamaath were prosecuted for making derogatory remarks in a video against Buddha and hurting the sentiments of the Sinhala-Buddhist community in the country. The Jerusalem Post reported that the alleged suicide bomber and mastermind behind the attack on the Shangri La hotel had been identified as Islamic extremist Moulvi Zahran Hashim, who was a lecturer for National Towheeth Jamaath. However, the outfit is not to be confused with the Sri Lanka Towheeth Jamaath, which has condemned the attacks and demanded the highest punishment to the perpetrators. The group also organised a blood donation drive in Kandy on Sunday, and posted photographs of the event on FB, saying that it wanted to do as much as it could to help the nation at this extraordinary time. Interestingly, the Sri Lanka police chief had issued an alert on April 11 regarding suicide bombers belonging to National Towheeth Jamaath planning to target 'prominent churches' and the Indian High Commission in Colombo. Police chief Pujuth Jayasundara had sent the intelligence warning to top officers after India had passed on specific intelligence to the Lankan authorities that a terrorist attack was imminent there. 'A foreign intelligence agency has reported that the NTJ (National Thowheeth Jama'ath) is planning to carry out suicide attacks targeting prominent churches as well as the Indian high commission in Colombo,' said the alert. DailyhuntDisclaimer: This story is auto-aggregated by a computer program and has not been created or edited by Dailyhunt. Publisher: The Indian Expresshttp://www.trakyadans.com/UserProfile/tabid/57/userId/177607/Default.aspx