Father, two brothers of Sri Lanka suicide bombings mastermind killed in gun battle - Reuters

COLOMBO/KALMUNAI (Reuters) - The father and two brothers of the suspected mastermind of Sri Lanka’s Easter Sunday bombings were killed when security forces stormed their safe house two days ago, police sources and a relative of the suicide bombers told Reuters on Sunday.

A police officer inspects the site of a gun battle between troops and suspected Islamist militants, on the east coast of Sri Lanka, in Kalmunai, April 28, 2019. REUTERS/Dinuka Liyanawatte

Zainee Hashim, Rilwan Hashim and their father Mohamed Hashim, who were seen in a video circulating on social media calling for all-out war against non believers, were among 15 killed in a fierce gun battle with the military on the east coast on Friday, four police sources said.

Niyaz Sharif, the brother-in-law of Zahran Hashim, the suspected ringleader of the wave of Easter Sunday bombings that killed over 250 people in churches and hotels across the island nation, told Reuters the video showed Zahran’s two brothers and father.

Three of the people killed in Friday’s gun battle were the same people who were seen in the undated video on social media, in which they discus martyrdom and urge their followers to kill all non believers, police sources said.

Sri Lanka has been on high alert since the attacks on Easter Sunday, with nearly 10,000 soldiers deployed across the island to carry out searches and hunt down members of two local Islamist groups believed to have carried out the attack.

Authorities have detained more than 100 people, including foreigners from Syria and Egypt since the April 21 bombings.

In the video, Rilwan Hashim is seen calling for all out ‘jihad’, or holy war, while children cry in the background.

“We will destroy these non-believers to protect this land and therefore we need to do jihad,” Rilwan says in the video, sitting beside his brother and father.

“We need to teach a proper lesson for these non-believers who have been destroying Muslims.”

Authorities suspect there may be more suicide bombers on the loose. Defense authorities have so far focused their investigations on international links to two domestic groups they believe carried out the attacks, the National Thawheedh Jamaath and Jammiyathul Millathu Ibrahim.

Islamic State has claimed responsibility for the Easter bombings, and on Sunday the group said three of its members clashed with Sri Lankan police for several hours in Friday’s gun battle on the east coast before detonating their explosive vests, the militant group’s news agency Amaq said.

The group said 17 policemen were killed or injured in the attack, but the Sri Lankan military has denied this. A police source told Reuters two policemen were slightly injured in the battle.

Police have said six children were among the other 12 people who died in the gun battle, but have not released further details.

Reporting Shihar Aneez, Shri Navaratnam, Ranga Sirilal in COLOMBO and Alasdair Pal in KALMUNNAI; editing by Richard Pullin

Our Standards:The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

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2019-04-28 08:13:00Z
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Spain votes in pivotal election marked by far-right resurgence - Aljazeera.com

Madrid, Spain - Spaniards are heading to the polls on Sunday in a pivotal election that could see a return of a far-right party in a ruling coalition for the first time since its transition to democracy.

Polls opened at 9am (7:00 GMT) and are expected to close at 8pm (18:00 GMT), although they can be extended to 9pm in certain cases.

Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez of the centre-left Socialist Workers' Party of Spain (PSOE) called snap polls after his government failed to pass a budget in February.

There are five main parties that could form two possible ruling coalitions; one comprised of left-wing parties and regional nationalists, another with the traditional centre right and the far right.

Sanchez, who has reinvigorated support for PSOE after nearly a decade of losing to the mainstream right-wing People's Party (PP), finished his campaign by saying he was open to a ruling coalition with left-wing Podemos, headed by Pablo Iglesias, in an interview with daily newspaper El Pais.

PSOE is expected to win the most seats, though come short of a majority.

190425204740082

Sanchez cited the "real risk of the right wing becoming one with the extreme right" as a reason to support PSOE during the interview.

PP, headed by Pablo Casado, could conceivably win a governing election with the support of the Citizens party, which considers itself centrist and liberal but is considered far right by many in Catalonia, where it was founded in 2006; and the far-right, anti-immigrant Vox.

[The right is] concerned with Catalonia and Franco, I'm concerned with getting a job. They say the crisis is over, but we don't feel it.

Miguel Angel Rivera, philosophy student

A separatist push in Catalonia, coupled with continuing migration from Muslim-majority nations, has aided Vox, which is projected to take about 12 percent of the vote, Ignacio Jurado, a senior lecturer of politics at York University, told Al Jazeera.

Members of Vox have voiced their support for the four-decades-long fascist dictatorship of Francisco Franco, which ended in the 1970s, which was previously considered taboo in mainstream Spanish politics.

A vandalised mural of Jordi Cuixart, who is in jail on charges of rebellion and sedition [David Ramos/Getty Images]

Franco's rule was marked by a tough stance on national minorities in Spain, which is being echoed by Vox. PP and Citizens have also issued calls for limited autonomy in Catalonia, where many still hope for an independent state.

"The economic crisis and migration were possibly underlying factors that gradually created some conditions for the far right to emerge. However, it's the Catalan crisis what has energized it," Jurado said.   

If Vox wins seats in the national parliament, it will be the first time a far-right group has held seats in the governing body since Franco's death in 1975.

For Miguel Angel Rivera, a 20-year-old philosophy student, the talking points for Vox, PP and Citizens hold no water.

"They're concerned with Catalonia and Franco, I'm concerned with getting a job," Rivera, who plans to vote PSOE, told Al Jazeera. "They say the crisis is over, but we don't feel it."

Spain was one of the countries hardest-hit by the global recession that began in 2008. It has been declared over, and EU countries like Germany and Hungary are experiencing unemployment rates dipping below four percent.

Spain needs stability. It can't survive attacks on its territory.

Maria Villalobos, pensioner who plans to vote PP

Spain's unemployment rate sits at 14 percent, according to trading economics, even as living costs increase.

PSOE and Podemos agreed to an increase in the minimum wage in 2018, which Rivera said contributed to his support for PSOE.

Maria Villalobos, a pensioner in her 70s who lives in Madrid's trendy La Latina neighbourhood, plans to vote PP.

"Spain needs stability. It can't survive attacks on its territory," Villalobos told Al Jazeera.

Casado, who has vowed to enact Article 155 of the Spanish Constitution in Catalonia, which will place it under direct rule of the national government, understands this, Villalobos said.

When asked if PP entering a ruling coalition with Vox concerned her, Villalobos replied: "I lived under Franco. It wasn't easy, but we were Spanish. All of Spain understood that."

Voting in the Spanish election is expected to continue through the evening, when preliminary results will be announced.

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2019-04-28 08:07:00Z
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Spain votes in pivotal election marked by far-right resurgence - Aljazeera.com

Madrid, Spain - Spaniards are heading to the polls on Sunday in a pivotal election that could see a return of a far-right party in a ruling coalition for the first time since its transition to democracy.

Polls opened at 9am (7:00 GMT) and are expected to close at 8pm (18:00 GMT), although they can be extended to 9pm in certain cases.

Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez of the centre-left Socialist Workers' Party of Spain (PSOE) called snap polls after his government failed to pass a budget in February.

There are five main parties that could form two possible ruling coalitions; one comprised of left-wing parties and regional nationalists, another with the traditional centre right and the far right.

Sanchez, who has reinvigorated support for PSOE after nearly a decade of losing to the mainstream right-wing People's Party (PP), finished his campaign by saying he was open to a ruling coalition with left-wing Podemos, headed by Pablo Iglesias, in an interview with daily newspaper El Pais.

PSOE is expected to win the most seats, though come short of a majority.

190425204740082

Sanchez cited the "real risk of the right wing becoming one with the extreme right" as a reason to support PSOE during the interview.

PP, headed by Pablo Casado, could conceivably win a governing election with the support of the Citizens party, which considers itself centrist and liberal but is considered far right by many in Catalonia, where it was founded in 2006; and the far-right, anti-immigrant Vox.

[The right is] concerned with Catalonia and Franco, I'm concerned with getting a job. They say the crisis is over, but we don't feel it.

Miguel Angel Rivera, philosophy student

A separatist push in Catalonia, coupled with continuing migration from Muslim-majority nations, has aided Vox, which is projected to take about 12 percent of the vote, Ignacio Jurado, a senior lecturer of politics at York University, told Al Jazeera.

Members of Vox have voiced their support for the four-decades-long fascist dictatorship of Francisco Franco, which ended in the 1970s, which was previously considered taboo in mainstream Spanish politics.

A vandalised mural of Jordi Cuixart, who is in jail on charges of rebellion and sedition [David Ramos/Getty Images]

Franco's rule was marked by a tough stance on national minorities in Spain, which is being echoed by Vox. PP and Citizens have also issued calls for limited autonomy in Catalonia, where many still hope for an independent state.

"The economic crisis and migration were possibly underlying factors that gradually created some conditions for the far right to emerge. However, it's the Catalan crisis what has energized it," Jurado said.   

If Vox wins seats in the national parliament, it will be the first time a far-right group has held seats in the governing body since Franco's death in 1975.

For Miguel Angel Rivera, a 20-year-old philosophy student, the talking points for Vox, PP and Citizens hold no water.

"They're concerned with Catalonia and Franco, I'm concerned with getting a job," Rivera, who plans to vote PSOE, told Al Jazeera. "They say the crisis is over, but we don't feel it."

Spain was one of the countries hardest-hit by the global recession that began in 2008. It has been declared over, and EU countries like Germany and Hungary are experiencing unemployment rates dipping below four percent.

Spain needs stability. It can't survive attacks on its territory.

Maria Villalobos, pensioner who plans to vote PP

Spain's unemployment rate sits at 14 percent, according to trading economics, even as living costs increase.

PSOE and Podemos agreed to an increase in the minimum wage in 2018, which Rivera said contributed to his support for PSOE.

Maria Villalobos, a pensioner in her 70s who lives in Madrid's trendy La Latina neighbourhood, plans to vote PP.

"Spain needs stability. It can't survive attacks on its territory," Villalobos told Al Jazeera.

Casado, who has vowed to enact Article 155 of the Spanish Constitution in Catalonia, which will place it under direct rule of the national government, understands this, Villalobos said.

When asked if PP entering a ruling coalition with Vox concerned her, Villalobos replied: "I lived under Franco. It wasn't easy, but we were Spanish. All of Spain understood that."

Voting in the Spanish election is expected to continue through the evening, when preliminary results will be announced.

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2019-04-28 07:07:00Z
52780276742690

Police Raided Company Selling $30 Million Of Knock-Off Legos - NPR

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The toy company Lepin was raided by Chinese authorities in Shenzhen, China last week for allegedly manufacturing fake Lego products. picture alliance/picture alliance via Getty Image hide caption

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picture alliance/picture alliance via Getty Image

A quick visit to the website LepinLand.com and it's pretty clear, the toys the Chinese company sells are eerily similar to another very popular toy on the market: Legos.

But it won't be selling them much longer.

The Chinese company posted a message on its website to say that at the request of the Chinese Government and Shanghai Police, it is temporarily stopping production of their block sets starting in May.

Chinese authorities raided Lepin's factory located in Shenzhen, China last week after discovering it was allegedly manufacturing fake Lego products. The raid turned up $30 million worth of counterfeit Legos and police arrested four people, the BBC reported.

Most Lepin sets, including its Star Wars series, are advertised on its website as "compatible with Lego."

And now we know why. Police said in a statement that the toys were copied from Lego blueprints and more than 630,000 finished products were sized from the factory, the BBC reported.

A police investigation is still underway. According to the BBC, images posted by Chinese authorities after the raid showed products that looked nearly identical to those produced by the Danish toy giant, Lego.

The Lepin brand is definitely a cheaper option, often selling for a fraction of the price of Legos. As of Saturday afternoon, Lepin's website had its Star Wars Millennium Falcon kit listed for $313.30 whereas an authentic Lego one goes for $799.99.

Zhong Shikai, one of the police officers responsible for investigating the case, told the state-run news agency Xinhua that there are big differences in the craftsmanship and quality when comparing the two.

Lego China and Asia Pacific's vice president Robin Smith said the products could pose a safety concern for consumers, Xinhua reported.

Foreign companies in China have long expressed dissatisfaction about intellectual property enforcement because of the prevalence of counterfeiting. The AFP reports the raid was a move by China to double down on intellectual property infringements, possibly in an attempt to ease trade tensions with Washington.

Xinhua reported that the number of intellectual property rights trials in Shanghai hit a record high last year.

Lepin's website says it will continue selling all remaining sets, but will not restock in the future.

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2019-04-27 20:56:00Z
CAIiEF80x4oyUzeXhRsNDGeD7MsqFggEKg4IACoGCAow9vBNMK3UCDCvpUk

Sri Lanka bombings: 'I invited the bomber into the church' - BBC News

Brother Stanley was the pastor in charge of the Zion church in the Mattakalappu area of Sri Lanka when the bombing happened.

Speaking to BBC Tamil, he recalls meeting the suspected bomber outside the church and inviting him inside after he had enquired at what time the Easter service would begin.

The bombings targeted churches that were packed full for the Easter holiday, as well as hotels popular with tourists.

Sri Lankan authorities blamed a local Islamist extremist group, National Tawheed Jamath, for the attacks, although the Islamic State group (IS) has also claimed it played a role.

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2019-04-27 14:11:36Z
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15 killed in Sri Lanka police raid at suspected terrorist hideout - The Washington Post

SAINTHAMARUTHU, Sri Lanka — At least 15 people were killed, including six children, in bomb blasts and gunfire as Sri Lankan security forces raided a rented home used by a group with suspected links to the deadly Easter bombings.

The dramatic confrontation late Friday came amid a nationwide security crackdown and intensive searches for suspects in numerous locations across Sri Lanka. Police warned of possible further attacks and used new emergency powers to stop and question individuals and raid homes and other sites.

On Saturday morning, crime scene personnel in fluorescent vests roamed the lane collecting ball bearings, torn pieces of clothing, and fragments of flesh in Sainthamaruthu on the island’s east coast.

The body of the man shot by security forces, identified by police only as “Niyaz,” still lay face down on the cobbled pavement.

Most of the dead — which also included six men and three women — were killed in three bomb blasts that ripped holes in the roof and wall of the house and left behind charred remains, police said.

One of the men was shot by security forces after he came into the lane and began firing a rifle, said Lucian Sooriyabandara, a local police official.

Police said the group is connected to the suicide bombers who carried out attacks on churches and luxury hotels in three cities on Easter Sunday, killing more than 250.

Earlier the same day, police raided a house about three miles from the rented home. There they found a cache of explosives, police said, plus the a black Islamic State-style flag and clothes worn by the attackers in a picture distributed by the Islamic State claiming responsibility for the bombings.

[The remote Sri Lankan enclave that produced the massacre mastermind]

Local residents in Sainthamaruthu said the group arrived at the rented house five days ago. Residents grew suspicious when they saw the group unloading boxes and learned they were from Kattankudy, a town an hour’s drive away where Zahran Hashim, the mastermind of the attacks, was based.

Mohammad Rizwan, 31, a local shopkeeper, said he alerted a nearby traffic cop to the group’s presence early Friday evening. When the officer approached the lane, Rizwan said, the first of several explosions rang out from the house. When police and soldiers arrived, a gun battle ensued.

President Maithripala Sirisena said Friday that strict new measures were being taken to identify and track people, similar to controversial methods used during the civil war between separatist ethnic Tamils and the government that ended in 2009.

He said that about 70 individuals suspected of ties to the Islamic State had been arrested, and that another 70 suspects were still at large.

“We had to declare an emergency situation to suppress terrorists and ensure a peaceful environment in the country,” the president said. “Every household in the country will be checked” and lists of all residents made to “ensure that no unknown person can live anywhere,” he vowed.

The identities of those killed in the house, a white bungalow with a black metal gate and surrounded by a high wall, were not immediately known or released, and there was no explanation for the presence of six children, who are now dead.

But the appearance of a family group hiding in the residence bore similarities to a deadly encounter between police and the occupants of a luxurious home in the Colombo suburbs last Sunday.

After two sons of a wealthy spice merchant, M. Y. Ibrahim, were identified as being among the suicide bombers, police raided the family home. A woman inside, later identified as the wife of one of the sons, detonated a bomb as the police approached, killing herself, her unborn child, three children and three policemen.

Read more

Sri Lankan spice tycoon’s sons and daughter-in-law were suicide bombers in Easter attacks  

Officials in Sri Lanka warn of more attacks as death toll is lowered to around 250  

Sri Lankan Easter bombings, claimed by ISIS, show the group maintains influence even though its caliphate is gone 

Today’s coverage from Post correspondents around the world

Like Washington Post World on Facebook and stay updated on foreign news

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2019-04-27 12:54:09Z
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15 killed in Sri Lanka police raid at suspected terrorist hideout - The Washington Post

SAINTHAMARUTHU, Sri Lanka — At least 15 people were killed, including six children, in bomb blasts and gunfire as Sri Lankan security forces raided a rented home used by a group with suspected links to the deadly Easter bombings.

The dramatic confrontation late Friday came amid a nationwide security crackdown and intensive searches for suspects in numerous locations across Sri Lanka. Police warned of possible further attacks and used new emergency powers to stop and question individuals and raid homes and other sites.

On Saturday morning, crime scene personnel in fluorescent vests roamed the lane collecting ball bearings, torn pieces of clothing, and fragments of flesh in Sainthamaruthu on the island’s east coast.

The body of the man shot by security forces, identified by police only as “Niyaz,” still lay face down on the cobbled pavement.

Most of the dead — which also included six men and three women — were killed in three bomb blasts that ripped holes in the roof and wall of the house and left behind charred remains, police said.

One of the men was shot by security forces after he came into the lane and began firing a rifle, said Lucian Sooriyabandara, a local police official.

Police said the group is connected to the suicide bombers who carried out attacks on churches and luxury hotels in three cities on Easter Sunday, killing more than 250.

Earlier the same day, police raided a house about three miles from the rented home. There they found a cache of explosives, police said, plus the a black Islamic State-style flag and clothes worn by the attackers in a picture distributed by the Islamic State claiming responsibility for the bombings.

[The remote Sri Lankan enclave that produced the massacre mastermind]

Local residents in Sainthamaruthu said the group arrived at the rented house five days ago. Residents grew suspicious when they saw the group unloading boxes and learned they were from Kattankudy, a town an hour’s drive away where Zahran Hashim, the mastermind of the attacks, was based.

Mohammad Rizwan, 31, a local shopkeeper, said he alerted a nearby traffic cop to the group’s presence early Friday evening. When the officer approached the lane, Rizwan said, the first of several explosions rang out from the house. When police and soldiers arrived, a gun battle ensued.

President Maithripala Sirisena said Friday that strict new measures were being taken to identify and track people, similar to controversial methods used during the civil war between separatist ethnic Tamils and the government that ended in 2009.

He said that about 70 individuals suspected of ties to the Islamic State had been arrested, and that another 70 suspects were still at large.

“We had to declare an emergency situation to suppress terrorists and ensure a peaceful environment in the country,” the president said. “Every household in the country will be checked” and lists of all residents made to “ensure that no unknown person can live anywhere,” he vowed.

The identities of those killed in the house, a white bungalow with a black metal gate and surrounded by a high wall, were not immediately known or released, and there was no explanation for the presence of six children, who are now dead.

But the appearance of a family group hiding in the residence bore similarities to a deadly encounter between police and the occupants of a luxurious home in the Colombo suburbs last Sunday.

After two sons of a wealthy spice merchant, M. Y. Ibrahim, were identified as being among the suicide bombers, police raided the family home. A woman inside, later identified as the wife of one of the sons, detonated a bomb as the police approached, killing herself, her unborn child, three children and three policemen.

Read more

Sri Lankan spice tycoon’s sons and daughter-in-law were suicide bombers in Easter attacks  

Officials in Sri Lanka warn of more attacks as death toll is lowered to around 250  

Sri Lankan Easter bombings, claimed by ISIS, show the group maintains influence even though its caliphate is gone 

Today’s coverage from Post correspondents around the world

Like Washington Post World on Facebook and stay updated on foreign news

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2019-04-27 12:45:00Z
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